New England Patriots
“Everybody’s disappointed for him, and he’s disappointed,” coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. “You know what I mean? He wants to play.”
A.J. Brown drew a pass interference penalty against Josh Jobe in the first half. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
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Mike Vrabel sends clear message to Romeo Doubs after shaky Patriots debut
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FOXBOROUGH – Patriots wideout A.J. Brown has to miss at least four games, which means the soonest that he could return would be Week 6 against the Jets on October 18. It’s still not certain if he’ll be ready by then.
Milton Williams missed five games with a high-ankle sprain last year, and the way each individual responds to a particular injury is different.
Brown underwent an MRI last week that confirmed the injury. He is not expected to undergo surgery, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Patriots will have to do some shuffling in the receiver room as they prepare to be without Brown for at least a month, Vrabel said.
After an offseason’s worth of anticipation over how he’ll fit into the Patriots’ passing attack, having Brown miss such a big chunk of time this early in the season is clearly not how anyone wanted his time in Foxborough to begin.
“Everybody’s disappointed for him, and he’s disappointed,” coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. “You know what I mean? He wants to play. He’s a competitor, and we’ll have to get him back as quickly as possible. Obviously at a four-game window, and make sure that he’s ready to go mentally and physically when he does get back.”
Brown caught three of his four targets for 26 yards in the opener. He also drew a pass interference penalty on a flea-flicker. The Patriots picked up 34 yards on the penalty, which gave them the ball at the Seattle 2, setting up New England’s only touchdown of the night.
“We never want anybody to go down,” Running back Rhamondre Stevenson said. “That’s a big piece of our offense, but we’ve got some guys in our receiver room that I think are prepared and ready.”
DeMario Douglas offered a succinct response when asked about the team’s mind-set heading into the home opener without Brown.
“Just got to step up,” Douglas said, “Go out there and ball.”
Vrabel said he wants to get Kyle Williams more involved in the offense. Williams played a dozen offensive snaps but did not receive any targets Wednesday night.
“I’m hopeful that Kyle can find a role for us and find a way to help us,” Vrabel said. “Using his speed and catch and run opportunities like we saw last year at times or some shot-type plays.”
Williams said he feels more locked in and focused than he was last year in terms of being prepared to capitalize on such opportunities.
“I could give you a Christmas list for real,” Williams said when asked about the ways he can contribute to the offense. “But, I can do a lot man. It’s just when the opportunity presents itself, that’s when I’ll be able to show it.”
Efton Chism, who was inactive for Wednesday’s game, could also see more opportunities in Brown’s absence.
Despite a rocky debut Wednesday night, the Patriots will likely target Romeo Doubs more. Doubs had just three targets and didn’t register any catches. He had a similarly slow start to training camp as it took his connection with Maye a while to develop.
Once they started clicking, though, Doubs ended camp strong with several productive days.
Brown’s presence will be missed and the Patriots will have to get contributions from elsewhere during this initial stretch of the season.
“A.J. is a great player,” offensive guard Alijah Vera-Tucker said. “A phenomenal player, actually. But, I believe in our guys, the guys that we have. Each individual person has to come in ready to work and ready to take on that role and step up, so I have confidence in those guys.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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