How Does A.J. Brown's Injury Affect The Patriots?
How Does A.J. Brown's Injury Affect The Patriots?
The NFL season just kicked off, and New England hasn’t done well so far. They took on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 of the 2026 regular season, and they lost 13-10.
How does AJ Brown’s Injury Affect the Patriots?
The Patriots’ offense was very stagnant, with plenty of miscues and turnovers, and now they’re down their new No. 1 wide receiver, AJ Brown.
What happened to AJ Brown?
During the contest in the third quarter, Brown was running a route and went down as he attempted to catch the ball. The defender fell on Brown, and he reached for his ankle in discomfort. It appeared that the defensive back fell onto Brown’s ankle. He then left the game and did not return. Before the injury, Brown had three catches on four targets for 26 yards. One of the targets for Brown ended up being an underthrow, and he caused a pass interference, which later led to a touchdown.
In the aftermath of the injury, it was reported by ESPN that Brown is going to the injured reserve, which means he will miss four games due to sustaining a high ankle sprain. Patriots writer Mike Reiss also reported that there were no fractures in the X-rays. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spoke about Brown’s injury this week via WEEI.
“Any injury that you get at this time of the season, you kind of approach it with an all-hands-on-deck approach”, McDaniels said. “We got a lot of different skill guys that can do a lot of different things. There isn’t one person on the roster that can replace anybody like A.J. — in the middle of a game or a stretch of a season. So we’ll band together and figure out what we can do well and then try to get guys in positions to play to their strengths.”
Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown (1) runs against Seattle Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28) during the second quarter at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
How does AJ Brown’s injury affect the Patriots?
Brown was brought in to be the number one receiver for the Patriots’ offense. He’s a strong and athletic playmaker who is great at the contested catch. With him out, players like Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, and Pop Douglas. Doubs did have a key drop against Seattle, and he left without a catch on three targets. Although Doubs didn’t have a good game, he’s still a great route runner who can get open downfield. Hollins was like a security blanket for quarterback Drake Maye, as all four of his catches were important. The last attempt toward Hollins was a game-ending interception, but to have that much confidence in him is a good thing.
Douglas is a reliable receiver as well, whose versatility suits the offense. He can catch screens, run jet sweeps, and do damage to outside linebackers in the slot. They would also need to lean on their run game a bit more and try to make that a focal point.
Brown was traded from the Philadelphia Eagles to New England on June 1st for a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-rounder. So far in his career up to this point, Brown has accumulated 527 receptions for 8,055 yards and 56 touchdowns. He’s also been a three-time Pro Bowler, three-time All-Pro, and a Super Bowl champion.
The Patriots will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20th, and then their next two games after that will be against the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills. How will New England’s offense be without Brown?
Sep 9, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown (1) is tended to by trainers after injuring his ankle during the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
The Last Word
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will need to depend on other pass catchers more throughout the next four games. He’ll need to minimize the turnovers and continue to use his athletic ability to escape the pocket and get a positive gain when things break down.
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