A.J. Brown's Knee Issue Could Blow Up in Patriots' Face

The New England Patriots knew about A.J. Brown's knee issues when they traded for him back in June. They felt confident in the wide receiver's health, and got him for two draft picks — including a first rounder in 2028.

"It's a factor, but we examined him," executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said to Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein at the time. "He's got a knee that has some wear and tear that we were aware of. Our training staff and medical staff signed off on it."

Alright. Perfect. No worries.

Then Brown suffered a high-ankle sprain in the season opener against the Seahawks. After three catches, he'd have to go on IR and miss the next four games.

Awful start to his Patriots tenure, but injuries are part of the game. At least it wasn't the knee, right?

That's when we got this news this week that Brown — who had been limited in previous practices as he worked his way back from the ankle — was now dealing with a knee injury on top of the ankle. That raised some eyebrows, but like Josh McDaniels said on Thursday, he's just four quarters into his return and is essentially getting back to full health.

Jul 28, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown (1) walks to practice for training camp at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Yet we found out this weekend, Brown was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins and will now miss his fifth game of the season.

Brown's Knee Injury Could Be Devastating To NE

Not good. That's a headache the Patriots need to deal with. When you also add in that Mack Hollins and Romeo Doubs, their other top wideouts, are on IR with their own injuries, the Patriots aren't getting the same level of production from a position they expected a lot from.

Could this force the Patriots to make a deal at the trade deadline? Will Brown look like the same player he was during the summer months? How will he be able to manage the large workload required while dealing with a pair of nasty lower-body injuries?

Mike Vrabel didn't seem to feel like the team rushed Brown back into the lineup. Brown played a lot of snaps against the New York Jets in Week 6, and then some more against the Chicago Bears four days later. He wasn't able to be a full participant in any practice this week, and so now he'll be back on the sidelines.

"Just like everything else, when you come out of the game or a long week or practice on Monday, you evaluate the player," Vrabel said Friday. "He just wasn't able to practice or finish practice on Wednesday. So, we'll continue to treat him."

For now, the Patriots are in a good spot when it comes to their standing in the AFC.

But Brown's lack of production and now re-emergence of his knee problems could end up coming back to bite them when they most need him.

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