AJ Brown Makes Surprising Cleat Change Mid-Game

AJ Brown was on everyone’s screens early and often on Monday night, making the Eagles’ first two receptions of the game. It wasn’t hard to keep track of him either, as his highlighter-yellow cleats and mouthguard made it easy to pick him out.

Shortly after, Brown was inexplicably missing from the field for a few plays as the Eagles’ drive fizzled out in the red zone. This didn’t make a whole lot of sense at the time, especially considering Quez Watkins’ absence meant the Eagles were already very thin at wide receiver.

And if you were tracking Brown by his cleats, you probably missed him coming back into the game, since he did it in his black cleats (and also stopped getting the ball thrown his way).

Some fans were quick to blame the NFL — who are famously strict about jersey regulations and who have fined Brown before. But the league won’t typically make someone change mid-game, they just fine players afterward.

Plus Brown has worn bright cleats before — he rocked some last year in the playoffs for one of the most adorable reasons you’ll ever see:

My theory? The cleats just weren’t doing it for Brown, or they ripped or broke in some way. Brown called himself out of the game for that early absence. That’s not unusual when a player needs a breather, but it could also have been due to a gear malfunction.

All I know is the highlighter cleats were awesome, and Brown was playing much better in them.

Here’s hoping we see him impressive us in his black cleats again too.