How will Antonio Brown be used in his Patriots debut vs. Dolphins?

He won't be out there a whole lot, if that's what you were thinking.

New England Patriots receiver Antonio Brown will have his first opportunity to play in a game for the Patriots on Sunday when the team takes on the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins in Miami. What's tough to predict is not whether he will play, but rather, how he will be utilized in the Week 2 game. 

From NFL Now: The #Patriots are practicing as if WR Antonio Brown is going to play on Sunday, and unless the NFL steps in, he just may. pic.twitter.com/Gpat05F8hA

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2019

Looking from afar, one would think that because Brown was able to get in three full days of practice this week (assuming he makes it through a full practice on Friday) that there would be no reason to think he wouldn't get a full workload during the 1 o'clock game this weekend. That may be the case if he were playing for any other team in the NFL, but not with the Patriots. 

Because of the complexity of their playbook, New England may opt to give Brown a limited workload in order for him to learn slowly and not put himself in harms way during a  simmering hot game down in Miami. The Patriots are expected to win that game handily, so over-using Brown if he is not overly familiar with the playbook seems like a non-Bill Belichick approach to handling a new player of Brown's caliber.

Let's use Josh Gordon's arrival to Foxborough as a gauge for Brown's usage; when the team signed Gordon on Sept. 18 of last season, it wasn't until 12 days later that Gordon got to see his first action in a Patriots uniform. During that Week 4 game against the Dolphins at Gillette Stadium, Gordon played 18 of a possible 78 snaps and recorded two receptions  for 32 yards. Granted, Gordon was nursing a hamstring injury which may have also been why he missed the team's Thursday night game against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 21. But understanding the playbook was undoubtedly a reason for his absence from the Week 3 game as well. 

For Brown, who is 100 percent healthy, has all-world talent, but has had just three days to experience New England's playbook in practice, a slightly decreases role compared to Gordon's 2018 Patriots debut should be expected. 10-15 snaps on offense seems like the right fit for the 31 year old in Week 2 vs. Miami. 

With New England playing the Dolphins, followed by the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins and New York Giants, the team may have one of the easiest stretches of games in the NFL over the next five weeks. Because of that, the team should be in no rush to utilize Brown's talent, as they likely won't be in dire need of his services until the end of October. Having him out on the field and learning as he gets live reps is definitely important. But bringing him along slowly may be the best approach considering how potent their offense already looks. 

When the Patriots take the field Sunday afternoon keep an eye out for Brown, who will be wearing No. 17. His reps won't be plentiful, especially if New England gets out to an early lead, so make sure to watch what he does early on in the game. 

Follow Devon Clements on Twitter @DevClemNFL.