A.J. Brown sat on the ground, clutching at his lower right leg in obvious pain during the third quarter of the New England Patriots' 13-10 season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Patriots fans will likely have to wait until after the team's home opener to see the star receiver back on the field. How long before he can make more of an impact catching balls from Drake Maye, though, is the real question.
Making his team debut after being traded from the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason, Brown had three receptions for 26 yards on the road before, on his fourth target of the night, Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landed on his right leg as both dipped down for the ball and Pritchett swiped at it.
Brown exited the game and was evaluated in the medical tent before leaving and being ruled out. On Thursday morning, NFL insider Ian Rapoport wrote on X that Brown "is believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain."
The news could've been worse for New England, which traded a first-round pick to acquire the 6-foot-1, 226-pound target. Brown's X-rays were negative for a fracture, Rapoport added, and Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel discussed the situation the same day. The team is waiting on MRI results that will determine exactly how bad the injury is.
"We're running more tests, but we'll update you here next week," Vrabel said. "He wasn't able to finish the game, and we'll continue to evaluate, continue to run tests, but I don't know if he'll be available going forward here for next week. But we'll see. I know he'll do everything that he can to get back as quickly as possible, and once we get the reports, then we'll figure out what the treatment is."
How long could A.J. Brown be sidelined for?
Vrabel's Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in Week 2 on Sept. 20, but it's probably pretty safe to say Brown won't suit up to go up against Mike McCarthy's team.
High-ankle sprains typically shelve players for 4-6 weeks, but depending on severity, a 3-4-week minimum is reasonable to expect at the moment.
If Browns misses, say, the next four weeks, he'll watch as his team takes on the Steelers, visits the Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 27) and Buffalo Bills (Oct. 4) and returns home for a clash with the Las Vegas Raiders (Oct. 11). The Patriots take on the New York Jets at home on Oct. 18 in Week 6.
Brown and Maye have neighboring lockers in New England's locker room. The former has been impressed by the latter, a third-year pro who helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl in February.
"It's been great," Brown said of his relationship with the young signal-caller. "He's made my job a lot easier. He's such a great guy, and he always takes the blame for any little thing. And I'm like, 'Drake, it's OK. It's not that deep.' But he's incredible, man. He's fun to play with."
Last year with the Eagles, Brown pinned up his fourth straight 1,000-yard receiving season. He posted 21 touchdown grabs over the past three go-rounds, and is expected to provide a boost for the Patriots' attack. Before his four go-rounds with Jalen Hurts, Brown played for Vrabel with the Tennessee Titans from 2019-21.
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