New England Patriots
“This is a little more serious — six weeks, no surgery planned.”
The New England Patriots placed A.J. Brown on injured reserve Sunday, with the star wideout now set to miss at least four weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain during Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Seahawks.
Any player placed on IR must miss a minimum of four weeks. But the 29-year-old pass-catcher reportedly might be sidelined for more than just a month.
Speaking on NFL GameDay Morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Brown will avoid surgery, but he’s still expected to be out at least six weeks due to that ankle sprain.
“My understanding is the expectation is he misses six weeks,” Rapoport said. “Generally, these are four to six [week injuries]. This is a little more serious — six weeks, no surgery planned.”
If Brown is sidelined for six weeks, he’ll miss a stretch of games that includes New England’s home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers (Sept. 20), road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 27) and Buffalo Bills (Oct. 4), home games against the Las Vegas Raiders (Oct. 11) and New York Jets (Oct. 18), and a primetime road game against the Chicago Bears (Oct. 22).
It’s a daunting stretch where New England will be without its top pass-catcher, especially in that anticipated AFC East bout against Buffalo on the road.
Brown’s impact — and injury — was felt in New England’s Week 1 loss in Seattle, with the Patriots’ offense imploding in the second half of that game after Brown was sidelined early in the third quarter.
Brown — who recorded three catches for 26 yards in his debut with New England — was hurt after trying to convert on a third-down play while running a slant route. While Brown was diving for the ball, Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett’s knee landed right on his ankle.
Brown did not return for the rest of the evening, with a flatlining Patriots offense looming large over an eventual 13-10 loss at Lumen Field.
In New England’s final five drives of the night with Brown sidelined, New England only produced 93 yards of offense off of 32 total plays — with three of those five drives ending with brutal interceptions from Maye.
With Brown sidelined, the Patriots’ wideout room will be led by Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism.
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