Mike Florio said the media mischaracterized A.J. Brown’s comments after the Eagles traded for him, arguing Brown never leaked stories to motivate the team—only spoke openly, on the record, about holding himself and his offense accountable.
A.J. Brown is still a headline in Philadelphia, but this time it isn’t about the trade that delivered him to the Eagles.
On June 1, the Eagles finally dealt for the veteran wide receiver, receiving a 2028 first-round pick in exchange for Brown. Four days later, on June 4, Mike Florio pushed back hard on a new controversy tied to Brown—one built around how the story was reportedly framed.
Florio directed his criticism at members of the media he said botched the narrative. He pointed specifically to “mysterious Dov Kleiman” and former ESPN analyst Trey Wingo, both of whom claimed that Brown leaked stories to the media to motivate the Eagles in 2025.
Florio’s point was blunt: Brown did not leak any stories. He argued that what Brown discussed—when he spoke with Maria Taylor—was already on the record and widely reported, not something he was secretly feeding to reporters.
“Most importantly, Brown never told Maria Taylor that he leaked stories to the media to motivate teammates,” Florio wrote. “Brown didn’t operate in the shadows. He stood in the spotlight and said what he needed to say.”
The pushback landed on something Brown has said publicly before. Florio cited an example from a Twitch stream in November. when Brown told fantasy football players to “get rid of me.” Florio said Brown later doubled down on those comments when speaking with reporters. explaining that he wanted to hold his offense accountable.
“I don’t care if I’m misunderstood. I’ll stand up and fall on the sword over and over again. It’s about doing what we’re supposed to do on offense,” Brown declared via Zach Berman.
For Florio, the disagreement isn’t just semantic. He said there is a crucial difference between talking to the media and leaking information—and that mislabeling Brown’s actions changes how people interpret him.
“It’s a huge difference. The notion that Brown “leaked” stories creates the impression that he was violating the code of the locker room, that he was going rogue and potentially sabotaging the team,” Florio added.
He then challenged the outlets that pushed the “leaked” stories narrative to revise what they’ve published—urging them to correct their framing after Brown’s public remarks were, in his view, being represented as something they weren’t.
A.J. Brown Philadelphia Eagles Mike Florio Dov Kleiman Trey Wingo Maria Taylor Twitch Zach Berman 2028 first-round pick NFL news
So he “leaked” or he didn’t? Sounds like everybody just arguing over words again.
I swear media loves making athletes look shady. If it was already on the record then why are they acting like it’s some secret thing?
Florio saying Brown didn’t leak anything… but wasn’t there a quote where he told Maria Taylor something about motivating the team? Like maybe they just twisted it. Also who even is Dov Kleiman lol
This is why I don’t trust anything sports analysts say. Trey Wingo and all those guys will say “leaked” and suddenly it’s a locker room scandal. Meanwhile Brown’s like get rid of me? That sounds like he was already causing drama. Not sure what the correct story is but the Eagles media circus never ends.