A.J. Brown was injured during the third quarter of the New England Patriots’ 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on September 9. Facing a third-down situation, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw a low pass to Brown, and as the Seahawks’ CB Nehemiah Pritchett defended the play, he fell on Brown’s right ankle.
Brown immediately grabbed his ankle before being attended to on the field and left for the locker room. An MRI later confirmed a high ankle sprain. The diagnosis put New England in a tough spot. The WR was placed on injured reserve, expected to miss at least four games, while NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported an absence of around six weeks. However, NFL insider Adam Schefter provided a bit more context and some optimism on the situation.
“I think that’s gonna take a little while. I think it was supposed to be a 6-8 week injury. He’s been, from what I understand, moving pretty well,” Schefter said on WEEI’s Rich, Ken & Ted show. “Looks like a guy who can come back on the quicker side of 6 weeks than 8 weeks, so that’s encouraging. But you’re on IR—that’s a minimum 4. I’m gonna guess today, based on some of the things, maybe it’s 6. But there’s still a little ways to go, and you have to see how he’s recovering.”
High ankle sprains can be quite tricky for receivers because cutting, planting, and accelerating all put stress on the injury. The Patriots’ offense was built around Brown’s ability to separate and produce explosive plays, so his absence was more than just losing another target.
Six weeks from September 9 lands around October 21, and the Patriots will visit Chicago on Thursday, October 22. While a November return ahead of the road trip to Miami would still leave him with a solid portion of the season, the current update suggests New England won’t need to wait that long.
Brown barely got an opportunity to prove himself in New England. He finished with three receptions for 26 yards on four targets. The receiver also drew a 34-yard pass-interference penalty that moved the Patriots to the Seattle 2-yard line and helped score their only TD.
Before leaving, he had already recorded team highs in receptions, targets, and receiving yards. The offense looked like it had no backup plan, failing to score again while blowing a 10-0 lead in a 13-10 loss in Week 1.
The Patriots have already played without Brown in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and they had a glorious 20-3 victory. The passing attack has struggled to find the end zone, logging zero passing touchdowns and four interceptions in two games since Brown left. Brown’s absence somehow changed how defenses can approach the passing game.
Drake Maye is averaging only 193 passing yards per game. Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, and DeMario Douglas are expected to take over as long as Brown stays sidelined. The challenge is here not to replace Brown’s catches but to replace the defensive attention and big-play threat that comes with having a three-time Pro Bowler on the outside.
New England will play against the Jaguars, Bills, Raiders, Jets, and Bears before traveling to Miami for a matchup against the Miami Dolphins on November 1. Three of the first six opponents were 2025 playoff teams, which will make that period without Brown a demanding stretch for an offense that was expected to take another step after ranking among the league’s most productive units last season.
For now, the Patriots have little choice but to keep the offense together without rushing Brown’s recovery. The Week 2 win showed that the Patriots can operate without their receiver, but maintaining that production over multiple weeks will be challenging. They need to find rhythm before Brown returns.