Identity of Seahawks ‘staffer’ who tussled with AJ Brown revealed

The Seattle Seahawks avoided punishment after a supposed staff member recently got entangled with Philadelphia Eagles star AJ Brown.

How, you might ask? The answer is simple: the man in question wasn’t a staffer.

The Eagles star got heated with a man who spectators initially believed to be a Seahawks staffer during the teams’ Monday night clash at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash.

The incident happened as the Eagles led 17-10 and faced 3rd-and-8 from their own 23 with under 2 minutes left in the third quarter.

Brown ended up on the Seahawks’ sideline after a failed deep pass from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Brown shoved Seahawks cornerback Michael Jackson as he walked back to the field. The presumed staffer retaliated by bumping Brown, who shoved the man right back (video here).

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the man wasn’t actually a Seahawks staffer but rather practice squad player Joey Hunt.

From The Insiders on #NFLPlus and @nflnetwork: If you were wondering why a non-player on the #Seahawks’ sideline didn’t get the Dom DiSandro treatment for getting into it with the #Eagles’ A.J. Brown, it’s in part because he actually is a player — practice-squad OL Joey Hunt. pic.twitter.com/FRrcUpCLBO

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 19, 2023

The Eagles are well aware of the rule barring non-players from getting into it with players on the field. The NFL recently punished Eagles’ head of security Dom DiSanto for his Week 13 altercation with San Francisco 49ers player Dre Greenlaw.

But Hunt was held to a different standard given that he’s an actual player, practice squad or not.

Hunt, a 6’2″ offensive lineman with 4 years of active NFL experience, is used to protecting his teammates on the field. Those on-field instincts may have kicked in for Hunt after seeing Brown get physical with one of his Seahawks comrades on the sidelines.