Is it time to start panicking over A.J. Brown’s ‘flared-up’ knee?

When the New England Patriots traded both a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for A.J. Brown in June, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf was aware of the risk.

Even with Brown’s standing as an elite, All-Pro wideout, the 29-year-old had a few red flags with his health. Wolf admitted to Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein that New England was aware of a “degenerative knee condition” with Brown. ​

But, given that Brown missed only one game due to a knee-related ailment over his final three seasons in Philadelphia, Wolf said those knee issues weren’t enough to dissuade the Patriots from bringing Brown aboard.

“It’s a factor, but we examined him,” Wolf told Epstein. “He’s got a knee that has some wear and tear that we were aware of. Our training staff and medical staff signed off on it.”

Now, that same knee seems to be hindering Brown again as the veteran tries to find his footing after a slow start to the season.

A day after landing on the Patriots injury report with both an ankle and knee issue, Brown didn’t participate in Thursday’s practice in Foxborough — casting doubt on whether he will be available for Sunday’s road game against the Dolphins.

Brown’s ankle injury designation didn’t come as much of a surprise, given that the wideout suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 1 against the Seahawks that landed him on IR.​

But this knee issue is a new development, with NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reporting on X that Brown’s knee “has flared up” and saying his status for Sunday is “up in the air.”

It’s a major setback for Brown, who has labored since returning from IR in Week 6 against the Jets. In his two games since returning from that ankle injury, Brown has only caught nine passes on 20 targets for 101 yards and zero touchdowns.

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s practice, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was asked about Brown’s health entering Week 8.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to comment on where the number he is and all that,” McDaniels said. “Look, he’s played eight quarters in almost two months and had four practices, I think. So, I’m certainly in the mode of this is a process of building into our best football. We’ve seen that with pretty much every player that’s come here starting last year, and then obviously we’ve seen that already this year with different guys. So, I think there’s things that we can work on to do better.

“And certainly his health is going to be a big part of that. So, they tell us he can do A, B, and C. We’ll do A, B, and C. And if there’s some element of things we need to wait on, then we’ll do it. So, love his attitude and his approach. He’s been here working his tail off to try to put himself in a great position to help our team, and I know he’s going to do that.”

Brown’s potential absence against Miami stands as another tough break for New England’s pass-catching corps, which has been hampered by injuries throughout the 2026 season.

New England already has Romeo Doubs (shoulder) and Mack Hollins (calf) on injured reserve, with DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism III, Kyle Williams, Ryan Miller, Chandler Brayboy, Cameron Dorner, and Kyle Dixon standing as the next wideouts up against the Dolphins.

“It’s been a small sample size for A.J.,” Patriots wide receivers coach Todd Downing said. “I think there’s been a lot made about a couple of weeks, and my hope, and his hope and everybody’s hope, is that he starts to get a little bit of traction. I’m not worried about where A.J. is at all. Certainly haven’t had the results that we had hoped for, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not right around the corner.”

Granted, the Patriots may not need all that much firepower to beat a 1-5 Dolphins team. Still, New England has struggled to get consistent production from wideouts all season long, with just 87 of Drake Maye’s 321 passing yards vs. Chicago going to wide receivers.

When Brown struggled with three drops against the Jets in Week 6, some of those concerns could be cast aside as an uncharacteristic outlier given that he had only one drop over his final two seasons with the Eagles.

Even with those drops, Brown was at least getting open against the Jets and didn’t seem hindered by that sprained ankle.

But after a lackluster showing against the Bears where Brown didn’t light up the stat sheet and whiffed on several blocks, he admitted on Wednesday that he’s still working to get his explosiveness back due to that ankle.

“Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes I see it, and sometimes I’m pushing through,” Brown told reporters at Gillette Stadium. “None of that stuff even matters. I’m out here, so I’m going.”

Already working his way back from that ankle injury, Brown’s availability and outright production will take another major hit if his knee issue doesn’t resolve itself in short order​

It’s a sobering scenario for the Patriots, given both the price they paid to acquire Brown and the initial promise that came with his arrival in Foxborough as a legitimate game-changing presence.

Brown was not the only Patriot to miss Thursday’s practice, as TreVeyon Henderson was also absent due to illness.

Here’s a full look at New England’s latest practice report:

DID NOT PARTICIPATE
WR A.J. Brown – Ankle / Knee
RB TreVeyon Henderson – Illness

LIMITED PARTICIPATION
OL Ben Brown – Knee
DT DaQuan Jones – Back
T Morgan Moses – Foot

FULL PARTICIPATION
T Marcus Bryant – Ankle
S Kevin Byard III – Chest
CB Channing Canada – Hamstring
CB Carlton Davis III – Neck
LB Christian Elliss – Chest
LB Dre’Mont Jones – Shoulder
QB Drake Maye – Right Shoulder
CB Karon Prunty – Hamstring

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.