Patriots’ Expected AJ Brown Return Date Revealed
NFL insider Tom Pelissero reports the New England Patriots are optimistic WR A.J. Brown will return sooner rather than later.
The New England Patriots have retained their position in the AFC standings despite receiving limited assistance from their recent offseason acquisition, wide receiver A.J. Brown. Since trading for Brown in June, the Patriots have only utilized him for three games. Unfortunately, Brown will be sidelined again for Sunday's match against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium; however, this setback may not be as prolonged as the initial one.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, Brown is anticipated to return sooner rather than later, possibly after the Week 11 bye. If this timeline holds, Brown would miss the Patriots' Week 10 game against the Detroit Lions on Nov. 15, with his first opportunity to return being Week 12, during the team's "Sunday Night Football" match against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov.
29. Brown's first season with the Patriots has been challenging, marked by several injuries. He began his career with a high ankle sprain in Week 1, which cost him four games on injured reserve. He made a return in Week 6 against the New York Jets but had a mediocre performance, recording only three catches for 27 yards on 10 targets with three dropped passes.
Four days later, he contributed three catches for 48 yards in a loss to the Chicago Bears on "Thursday Night Football." The knee issue persisted, leading to his absence from the Miami Dolphins game. While this is not a new problem, it has been more disruptive in recent times. Patriots executive Eliot Wolf mentioned that Brown had missed only one game due to a knee issue over his final three seasons in Philadelphia.
The receiving corps is still limited, with Mack Hollins on injured reserve since Week 5 and Romeo Doubs joining him after Week 6. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported that Doubs is optimistic about returning after the bye, and Hollins was activated off injured reserve on Saturday. If Brown and Doubs both recover healthy after the bye, the Patriots would be experiencing their best receiving unit all season without needing to make any trades before Tuesday's trade deadline.
Written by urgent.news from Newsweek's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
