New England Patriots
Brown could miss upcoming games against the Steelers, Jaguars, and Bills.
A.J. Brown is going to miss some time with an ankle injury. Photo by Jane Gershovich/Getty Images
September 11, 2026 | 7:26 AM
2 minutes to read
The New England Patriots are reportedly going to be without their top wide receiver for a solid stretch of games this season.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, an MRI confirmed that Brown suffered a high ankle sprain during New England’s season-opening loss to the Seahawks on Wednesday — with the All-Pro wideout expected to miss at least four weeks.
It’s a brutal setback for Brown and the Patriots — who saw their offense completely unravel after Brown suffered his injury shortly into the second half of Wednesday’s game at Lumen Field.
Brown — who recorded three catches for 26 yards in his debut with New England — didn’t get up from the turf in Seattle after failing to reel in a throw from Drake Maye off a short slant route.
While Brown was diving for the ball, Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett’s knee landed right on his ankle.
Brown remained on the ground and was attended to by Mike Vrabel and the Patriots’ training staff before gingerly making his way to the blue medical tent.
The 29-year-old wideout didn’t return for the rest of the night, with New England’s offense flatlining in his absence.
In New England’s final five drives of the night with the star wideout out of the equation, New England only generated 93 yards of offense off of 32 total plays — with three of those five drives ending with back-breaking interceptions from Maye.
Now the Patriots are reportedly looking at at least a month without Brown — who is expected to miss New England’s home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers (Sept. 20), and then road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 27) and Buffalo Bills (Oct. 4).
NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported on X that Brown could miss between 3-6 weeks due to his ankle injury — which could put Brown at risk of missing New England’s home games against the Las Vegas Raiders (Oct. 11) and New York Jets (Oct. 18).
Speaking on Thursday afternoon, Vrabel said that the Patriots were still assessing Brown’s recovery timeline.
“We’re running more tests, but we’ll update you here next week,” Vrabel said. “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 the 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 report, then we’ll figure out what the treatment plan is.”
With Brown sidelined, the Patriots’ wideout room will be led by Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, and DeMario Douglas — with Kyle Williams and Efton Chism set for larger roles.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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