A.J. Brown injury update: Patriots opening up WR's practice window with return imminent

Help is on the way for the New England Patriots offense. Head coach Mike Vrabel announced that the team has opened up the practice window for receiver A.J. Brown, and he will be on the field on Wednesday. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in the team's season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which landed him on injured reserve. 

Week 6 was the earliest that Brown could be activated from IR, so the fact that he's able to get back to practice at this juncture is a positive sign that the ankle has healed at a good pace. 

"I don't know. He hasn't been out there," said Vrabel when asked what Brown's looming return means for the offense. "I can't tell you until we actually see it. He hadn't been out there for four weeks, so we'll get him back out there practicing and see if he's ready to go in a couple days. If not, then 21-day window and we'll go from there." 

New England will now have 21 days to move Brown onto the active roster, or else he'll revert back to injured reserve for the rest of the season. That said, it feels unlikely it'll take that long for him to eventually make his way back onto the 53-man roster and on the field. 

"I think he's stayed engaged," Vrabel said of how Brown has dealt with being injured. "I think it's difficult sometimes to stay engaged, but I think his routine was really good. His ability to be around the guys in meetings and also focus on his rehab. Just treated everything as a pro and be where he's supposed to be and work hard to get back." 

While it's unclear if Brown will be ready to go for the club's Week 6 matchup against the New York Jets, there is a wrinkle in the team's schedule worth pointing out. After this home matchup with the Jets, New England has a short week as they'll take on the Bears in Chicago on "Thursday Night Football" to begin Week 7. Given the tight turnaround, it's fair to wonder whether the Patriots will play it slow with Brown, with an eye for him to return for that game. 

"We obviously know we have a shortened week next week," said Vrabel. "Can't impact our decisions to try and do everything we can to win this week, and then figure out where we are after that." 

Brown was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Eagles this offseason. New England shipped a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the star pass catcher. On top of giving the Patriots a top-tier weapon, the trade also reunited Brown with Vrabel, who coached him when he first entered the league as a second-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2019.

Last season for the Eagles, Brown caught 78 balls for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns. In his brief showing with the Patriots in Week 1, the 29-year-old caught three of his four targets for 26 yards. 

Drake Maye will only improve with A.J. Brown back

One of the top stories throughout the NFL over the last two weeks has been the resurgence of Drake Maye. What's particularly stood out has been the return of the quarterback's deep ball efficiency. After being lauded as one of the best deep-ball throwers in the league during his runner-up MVP season in 2025, he fell off over the first three weeks of the year. Over these previous two games, however, it's returned in a big way. 

Completions/attempts

9/23

11/18

Completion percentage

39%

61%

TD-INT

0-4

3-0

Once Brown is officially reinserted into the offense, there's an argument to be made for these numbers to not only hold, but possibly even improve.