Patriots placing A.J. Brown on injured reserve: What that means for star WR

Doug Kyed, Boston Herald on Sep 11, 2026

Published in Football

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Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown will miss at least the next four games.

The Patriots are placing Brown on injured reserve with the high ankle sprain he suffered in Wednesday night’s loss to the Seahawks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported on Friday.

The Patriots play the Steelers, Jaguars, Bills and Raiders. The earliest Brown is eligible to return is Week 6, Oct. 18 against the Jets.

While Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t confirm the severity of the injury when he met with reporters Thursday, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Friday while appearing on WEEI’s “Jones and Keefe” show that it will take a collective effort in Brown’s absence.

“Look, any injury that you get at this point in time of the season, you kind of approach it with an all-hands on deck approach,” McDaniels said. “We’ve got a lot of different skill guys who can do a lot of different things. There isn’t one person on our roster that can replace anybody like A.J. in the middle of the game or for a stretch of the season. So, we’ll band together, we’ll figure out what we can do well and try to get the guys in position to play to their strengths.”

Brown caught three passes on four targets for 26 yards before leaving the 13-10 loss with the ankle injury. Mack Hollins then filled in for Brown and caught four passes on five targets for 51 yards.

The Patriots acquired Brown from the Eagles for a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick in June.

The team will be left with Hollins, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism for the next four games. They also have Cameron Dorner and Kyle Dixon on their practice squad.

The Patriots were so content with their wide receiver depth this summer that they traded Kayshon Boutte to the Texans for safety Jaylen Reed and a seventh-round pick.

If Boutte was still on the roster, he would likely step into a starting role in Brown’s absence.