New England Patriots Lose Prized Addition, A.J. Brown, to Injured Reserve With Ankle Injury

The New England Patriots ended last season in the Super Bowl, but they started the 2026 NFL season with a defeat.

However, the Patriots suffered more than just a loss in the standings, as they also suffered a loss in key personnel. The team’s prized addition in wide receiver A.J. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in Wednesday’s defeat to the Seattle Seahawks, and the ailment will sideline Brown for at least a month.

The Patriots are placing Brown on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss the next four games at least. This upcoming stretch just happens to be New England’s toughest of the season, as each of their next three games are against AFC playoff teams from last year.

Brown will miss Week 2 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 4 versus the Buffalo Bills, and Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. His earliest return would come in a Week 6 home game versus the New York Jets.

The injury occurred on New England’s first possession of the second half in Wednesday’s kickoff game. Facing a third down, Brown was lined up on the left side and ran a slant toward the middle of the field. The pass was broken up by Seahawks cornerback, Nehemiah Pritchett, who also ended up rolling onto Brown’s lower leg, which bent awkwardly.

Brown stayed down after the play and ended up limping to the sideline. He then slowly walked back to the locker room and wouldn’t return to play. In-stadium X-rays revealed no fractures, but further testing revealed the dreaded high-ankle sprain, which is an injury that’s been known to linger from weeks to months for many players.

New England had a 7–0 lead when Brown left the game, and without the team’s best skill player, the offense cratered. The Patriots would end the possession Brown was hurt on with a field goal, but that would be their final points of the game. Their remaining four possessions included a punt, followed by three straight interceptions as the Seahawks—just as they did in the Super Bowl—prevailed over New England, this time with a final score of 13–10.

Brown finished his Patriots debut with three catches for 26 yards. He also drew a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty that set up New England’s only touchdown.

A three-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro selection, Brown was one of many notable wide receivers to change teams this offseason, joining the likes of Mike Evans, Jaylen Waddle, and D.J. Moore. But he was arguably the biggest name to relocate, given his resume and the fact he’s in his prime at 29 years old.

The Patriots sought his services after the team released last year’s leading receiver, Stefon Diggs, in March. The team then traded for Brown on June 1 in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles in which New England gave up a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick. The move reunited Brown with Pats coach Mike Vrabel, who was also the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2019 when the team drafted Brown in the second round.

Since entering the league in 2019, Brown ranks fourth in the NFL in both receiving yards (8,055) and receiving touchdowns (56). He also ranks second among all active players, with 15.3 yards per catch, while his 76.0 receiving yards per game is fifth among actives.

Brown spent the past four seasons with the Eagles, winning a Super Bowl after the 2024 season and posting at least 1,000 yards each year. His first three seasons were spent with the Titans, where he averaged 998.3 yards and eight touchdowns.

Without Brown, the Patriots will have to rely even more so on another new face in the receiving core. Prior to Brown’s arrival, the big-name wideout acquisition for the Pats was former Green Bay Packer, Romeo Doubs. The 26-year-old had a career high of 724 yards last year in Green Bay but he was nowhere to be found in Week 1. In the loss to Seattle, Doubs was targeted three times but had zero catches and also had one notable dropped pass in which he was wide open.

While falling into an 0–1 hole is never ideal, the Patriots are familiar with this position, as they were in it a year ago. They lost their opener, this time coming at home, to the lowly Las Vegas Raiders, who would ultimately finish with the league’s worst record and get awarded with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

New England was able to rebound from that 0–1 hole—and even a Week 3 loss which put its record at 1–2—to win the AFC and head to the Super Bowl. So, the Patriots have the experience of overcoming a rough start in their favor, but they also have a much tougher schedule than they had last year. In 2025, New England had the third-easiest strength of schedule in NFL history, which certainly helped them win the conference. This year, New England’s strength of schedule clocks in as the sixth toughest.