The news Patriots fans feared arrived on Friday morning. The New England Patriots are placing wide receiver A.J. Brown on short-term injured reserve with the high-ankle sprain he sustained during Wednesday night’s season opener.
The move means that Brown will miss, at minimum, the Patriots’ next four games: home vs. Pittsburgh (Week 2), at Jacksonville (Week 3), at Buffalo (Week 4), and home vs. Las Vegas (Week 5).
That news hits like a gut-punch, as the Patriots’ opening slate of games was already no picnic. Those back-to-back road games with the Jaguars and Bills just got exponentially tougher.
But the Patriots have one luxury, and that’s offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Brown will be back this season — and McDaniels has been here before.
When it comes to maximizing every player on the offensive roster, McDaniels has proven over the years that he can make it work. It’s his superpower, and it’s one head coach Mike Vrabel and the Patriots will be leaning on over the next month.
“Any injury that you get at this time of the season, you kind of approach it with an all-hands-on-deck approach,” McDaniels told reporters on Friday. “We got a lot of different skill guys that can do a lot of different things. There isn’t one person on the roster that can replace anybody like A.J. — in the middle of a game or a stretch of a season. So we’ll band together and figure out what we can do well and then try to get guys in positions to play to their strengths.”
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is uniquely qualified for the team’s current fire drill at wide receiver
There’s no sugar coating the Patriots’ situation at wide receiver right now. With Brown landing on IR, and Kayshon Boutte now in Houston, the depth chart looks a little scary on paper.
New England will have to push forward without a bona fide No. 1 receiver for at least the next four games. But this is McDaniels’ wheelhouse, and what he does have in the current WR room is complimentary skill sets.
The peak McDaniels offenses during his second Patriots tenure from 2012-21 never relied on an A.J. Brown type on the outside. Those offenses were led annually by slot receivers and tight ends.
The Patriots have plenty of in-house options at those spots.
New England’s leading wide receiver in 2025 was Stefon Diggs, who lined up in the slot 53 percent of the time, per Pro Football Focus. No pass catcher on the Patriots’ roster has spent more time with Maye than DeMario Douglas and tight end Hunter Henry. Douglas figures to see a major uptick in targets going forward, with fan-favorite Efton Chism likely getting activated on game days with at least a special package of plays.
Romeo Doubs had a disappointing debut, but the team now has extra time to get him prepared for a more volume-heavy role. He’s now the team’s most versatile receiver, with the craftiness to operate from the boundary and the slot. With extra time to scheme Doubs into favorable matchups, McDaniels should be able to help the Patriots’ big free agent acquisition have a much better home debut than what fans saw in Seattle on Wednesday.
Mack Hollins will likely be the de facto No. 1 receiver in terms of overall snap count, as he was already the team’s preferred wideout in heavier personnel groupings. As the fourth quarter of the season opener proved once again, Hollins can be counted on as Maye’s go-to target in gotta-have-it situations.
Then there’s the wild-card — second-year pro Kyle Williams. He’s the Patriots’ only receiver that brings a true speed element to the field. Vrabel vowed to utilize Williams’ elite separation abilities, and Week 2 against the Steelers would be a good time for McDaniels to start scheming up some looks for his most legitimate downfield threat.
The pieces are there for the Patriots to field a complimentary group of skill position players with Maye playing point guard. If the offense can execute at a high level, opposing defenses should genuinely have no idea where the ball is going on any given play. None of the five receivers left on the Patriots’ active roster will be commanding additional attention — but they also won't be demanding the ball.
This is McDaniels’ wheelhouse. Douglas, Henry, Chism, and Doubs can all operate effectively out of the slot. Both Hollins and Williams have proven to be dangrous on the peremiter when given opportunities. The bulk of McDaniels' work with the Patriots over the years came with no true No. 1 receiver at his disposal, and it's time to put all of that experience to good use.
The Patriots will need Brown to get himself healthy and come back as soon as possible to make another legitimate Super Bowl run this year. But these next four games? Their OC should be able to get in his bag and help keep the ship afloat.
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