A.J. Brown’s ankle injury during the third quarter of the New England Patriots’ season opener put a damper on the first month of the season. Brown was Mike Vrabel’s prized offseason addition in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Brown’s blossoming connection with quarterback Drake Maye was the talk of training camp.
When the injury initially happened, this general timeframe, Week 8 of the regular season, was about where Brown was projected to return to the field. The Patriots placed him on injured reserve, meaning he had to miss a minimum of four games.
The team then had to weigh bringing him back against the Jets in Week 6 — his first week of eligibility off IR — a truncated Week 7 against the Bears on Thursday Night Football, or this week’s road trip to play the 1-5 Dolphins.
New England, of course, chose Door No. 1. That decision continues to blow up in its face.
Brown was downgraded from a limited practice participant to a nonparticipant on Thursday, which is never a good sign. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported early Friday morning that it’s Brown’s knee, not necessarily the ankle, that could keep him from playing this Sunday.
“A.J. Brown’s status for the game on Sunday is very much up in the air, but it’s not about the ankle injury that he came back from after just four weeks, despite the fact that it was really like a six-week injury,” Rapoport said. “This is about a knee that has bothered him off and on for the last several years. My understanding is the knee issue flared up early in the week. He did not practice yesterday. We’ll see if he’s able to get out there [in Friday’s practice], but he may not play on Sunday.”
From @GMFB: The very latest on #Patriots WR AJ Brown, #Eagles RB Saquon Barkley, and #Vikings RB Aaron Jones. pic.twitter.com/J22KtUSW5m
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 30, 2026
The Patriots had every reason to be patient with A.J. Brown and chose not to be
Brown was a huge piece of the Patriots’ offense entering the season. The Week 1 ankle injury was a punch in the gut, but getting him back healthy for this general part of the schedule, around the second half of the year, always felt like the smartest play.
New England didn’t need Brown against the Jets — in fact, he played so poorly in that game that the Patriots won in spite of him. The showdown with Chicago on TNF was fun, but the Bears are an NFC opponent. Had New England held Brown out those extra 10 days ahead of this week’s trip to Miami, fans would have understood.
Instead, Brown returned as soon as possible and played 52 snaps (76.5%) against the Jets. He then played 92% of the snaps against the Bears on just five days of rest on a Thursday night.
As Rapoport said, Brown arrived in Foxboro with a preexisting knee issue that the team was likely going to have to manage. Brown said himself this summer that he has rarely missed time because of the knee.
The real issue is the ankle. Whether he’s been overcompensating or just doesn’t fully trust it yet, Brown hasn’t looked like the dominant force Patriots fans thought they were getting from the Eagles.
The decision to bring him back on the early side of the injury timeline for a high-ankle sprain is likely playing a role here. This game, Week 8 against the Dolphins, should have been the target date for him to play his first snaps since the season opener.
Even if Brown was pushing to play, the decision to rush him back for that Jets game continues to age poorly and is 100 percent on Vrabel and the Patriots.
They should have taken a more cautious approach with one of their most important and high-priced players, and now we’re likely dealing with another injury setback because of it.
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