James Brown misses Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason on NFL Today

James Brown is missing two longtime faces from the NFL Today slate.

During a recent appearance on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast, Brown — an 18-year veteran of the CBS broadcast — complained about his friends Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason, who left “NFL Today” as part of a major shakeup earlier this year .

“At full throttle, yes, [I miss them]” said Brown, 73. “Boomer and Phil were instrumental in what we did and the relationships we had [at ‘NFL Today’].”

Simms, 68, and Esiason, 63, announced their departures from CBS in April, months after The Post reported that a shakeup could be on the horizon.

Former Texans defensive end JJ Watt, 35, and ex-Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, 39, joined the panel of Brown, Bill Cowher and Nate Burleson.

Esiason, who has served as an analyst for the CBS program since 2002, said of the network at the time: “More their decision than maybe mine.”

Simms, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback with the Giants, had been part of the program since 2017.

“No one has worked harder than Phil Simms to know all the Xs and Os, he's a gym rat in that regard,” Brown told Sports Illustrated. “Boomer Esiason could talk [about] in every respect because he is generally well versed in sports. [He] Added a lot of value.”

As difficult as the decision was, Brown praised the way the matter was handled by the network's executives.

“[I’ve got] to give CBS a taste,” he said. “How many teams have you seen where some veterans have performed well, but at some point … you have the young talent that you bring in.”

Brown, who expressed his “sadness” over the departures of Simms and Esiason in May, praised Watt and Ryan for the recognition they are following in their footsteps.

“You have to give credit to JJ Watt and Matt Ryan for recognizing that, and we acknowledged that for at least the first few weeks of the show,” Brown said, according to Awful Annancing. “But we all know that we are there to do our job and to deliver what leadership wanted to get out of this move and to deliver what they expected.”

Simms and Esiason are busy elsewhere.

Esiason hosts New York's popular sports radio show “Boomer and Gio” on WFAN and Simms joined Fox for its Giants preseason football coverage. He also hosts a podcast with his son, former NFL quarterback Matt Simms.