At the start of his athletic career at Starkville High School in Mississippi, wide receiver AJ Brown didn’t really like football. In fact, he described himself as “scared” of the physical side of the sport, turning instead to baseball.
Everything changed for Brown when he started watching then-Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones.
At the time, Jones was in his prime with the Falcons, earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2015 when he led the league with 136 receptions for 1,871 receiving yards. His receiving yard total was a Falcons franchise record and third in NFL history, the crowning jewel of one of the greatest seasons ever played at the position.
“Watching him play that position kind of made me think, ‘Hey, I could do that,’” the Eagles receiver said Friday. “He really inspired me.”
Eight years after admiring Jones from afar, Brown can appreciate Jones up close for the second time as a teammate. The two were together with the Tennessee Titans in 2021, and now Jones was reunited with Brown when he was signed to the Eagles’ practice squad on Tuesday.
Brown knew about a week before signing that the deal was in the works. With Jones on the practice field Wednesday, Brown is confident the Eagles’ young receivers can learn a thing or two from the 34-year-old, just like he can.
“I feel like he could be one of the best receivers to ever play the game,” Brown said. “So if you don’t listen to him, you’re stupid. I’ll just call it that. Guys will admire it. He’s got a lot of knowledge, man. They are great people.
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Jones may have a lot of knowledge, but he didn’t burst into the locker room to offer unsolicited advice to players who didn’t ask for it. He said he wants to be there for his new teammates if they seek his advice and opinions, which are rooted in 12 years of NFL experience.
Even though they are new teammates, they are not entirely new players to Jones. He played with Brown on the Titans, Olamide Zaccheaus on the Falcons, and crossed paths and coached with DeVonta Smith, who also played at Alabama. This feeling of familiarity allows the group to easily approach any topic.
“It’s just a normal conversation, because we’re all like brothers,” Jones said. “We know each other, we know each other, right? I used to go to Alabama and talk to Smitty and play with AJ and stuff like that. We just bounce things off each other.
Brown ranks Jones as the second-best receiver to ever play in the league, behind only Jerry Rice and ahead of Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Antonio Brown. But even though Jones may not be the same player now that he was in his prime, Brown is confident he can contribute to the Eagles in his own way.
“His ability, though, to separate and run and catch the ball is going to help us tremendously,” Brown said. “But I think from a veterinarian standpoint, I was a veterinarian, I was like the oldest veterinarian in the room. So now when you have someone who’s a Hall of Famer, he can really tell you anything and everything.
McKee to represent Brazil for NFL heritage program
Across the NFL over the next two weeks, players will represent their cultural backgrounds on the field by wearing international flag stickers on their helmets as part of the NFL’s legacy program.
Program participants can choose to fly the flag of a country or international territory where their loved ones were born or where they have lived for more than two years. Tanner McKee, who was designated as the Eagles’ third emergency quarterback, will represent Brazil, where he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years starting in 2018, putting on pausing his football career and delaying his start at Stanford.
McKee, who learned to speak and read Portuguese while living in Curitiba, Brazil, said he still feels a strong connection to the country, its culture and its people.
“I’m super lucky,” McKee said. “Because now with social media, WhatsApp and Instagram, you can stay in touch with a lot of people. My wife and I want to go back next year and visit some tourist spots, but also visit people I stayed with and got to know. So be really proud of Brazilian culture. I try to keep up my Portuguese, I try to listen to podcasts and other things in Portuguese just to keep going.
Punting returner and receiver Britain Covey will represent Chile, where he serves a Latter-day Saint mission for two years, missing his 2016 and 2017 seasons at Utah.
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Additionally, tight end Albert Okwuegbunam (Nigeria), safety Sydney Brown (Canada), quarterback Marcus Mariota (American Samoa), receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (Nigeria), offensive lineman Sua Opeta (American Samoa ), left tackle Jordan Mailata (Australia, Samoa). ), defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu (Tonga), defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (Nigeria) and inside linebacker Christian Elliss (Samoa) will participate in the program.
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