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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown said he was forced to change his cleats Monday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of an NFL rule that he believes players should push against.
Brown wore bright “highlight green” cleats for the first two possessions but was donning black cleats when he returned to the field for the Eagles’ third drive late in the first quarter.
He said the team’s equipment manager Greg Delimitros informed him he “had to take them off or they were going to pull me out of the game.”
Brown avoided a fine — around $7,000 for a first time offense, he said — since he took the cleats off.
He called the fine amount “ridiculous,” then added: “It is what it is. That’s not my battle to fight.”
Per NFL policy, players can wear either white, black or a tertiary team color during games, with the exception of “My Cause, My Cleats” week where players are able to wear customized footwear supporting issues they are passionate about.
“Yeah, that rule sucks,” Brown said. “I really tried to bend the rules a little bit…but I think all players should just wear whatever they want to wear. They’re not going to be able to fine everybody in the league. So I think we should start that movement as players.”
Brown said he likes to wear distinctive cleats so that his daughter has an easier time identifying him on the field.
“She got mad at me: ‘Why did I change the cleats?,'” said Brown. “She’ll have to be OK. I’m not trying to come out [of the game].”