Unfortunately, the little show Mike Vrabel put on during his Friday media availability was likely nothing more than gamesmanship.
New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown will miss his fifth game of the 2026 season with injuries to his ankle and knee. He was downgraded to out for Sunday’s Week 8 game at Miami, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The Patriots will also be without running back TreVeyon Henderson against the Dolphins after he left the team facility with an illness on Thursday.
Fans can only wonder how long Brown will be on the shelf this time. Daniel Rotman reported that the team is planning to shut him down for multiple weeks. Rotman doubled down on that report after Vrabel called Brown questionable on Friday, insisting that no decisions had been made and the team would evaluate Brown’s status on Saturday.
None of that will matter for the Patriots this week as they head to South Florida to play the Dolphins without Brown, Henderson, Mack Hollins, and Romeo Doubs.
New England's depleted offense will have to dig deep into its supporting cast against the Dolphins
RB Corey Kiner
Kiner’s role was already on the rise, but he has a chance to see his largest snap share of the season against the Dolphins.
The Patriots surprisingly used Kiner as their closer against the Jets two weeks ago. He handled a season-high 11 carries overall and turned them into 57 yards with a long of 12 that night.
New England will likely give Rhamondre Stevenson as many snaps as he can handle against the Dolphins, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Kiner be used more than usual early in the game, especially if the Patriots can build a lead.
TE Eli Raridon
During last week’s loss to the Bears, 17 of Drake Maye’s 24 completions went to running backs and tight ends. That strategy could carry over into Week 8 with DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism, and Kyle Williams the team’s only healthy wide receivers on the active roster.
Raridon has a chance to be the X-factor. He caught a 30-yard touchdown pass against the Bears, and he’s aligned either out wide or in the slot on over 25 percent of his snaps this season, per Pro Football Focus.
The Patriots will be shorthanded on the boundary against the Dolphins, and the 6-foot-7 Raridon could be a solution.
WR DeMario Douglas
Douglas spent the majority of his sophomore season in 2024 as Maye’s de facto No. 1 wide receiver, and they could have to tap into that connection on Sunday.
New England’s longest-tenured wideout has been stepping up as of late, turning 17 targets into 14 catches for 174 yards and three touchdowns over the past three games. He’s spent the majority of the season working out of the slot (75%), but he could be asked to play more on the outside against Miami due to the team’s lack of personnel on the perimeter.
Chism could be a candidate to work more out of the slot in this one with Williams seeing an uptick in snaps on the outside. But for the Patriots to function on offense on Sunday, they'll likely need a big game from Douglas.
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