2026 Patriots Three-Time Pro Bowl Receiver Expected to Miss a Minimum of Four Games
When the New England Patriots’ newest wide receiver, A.J. Brown, went down in the third quarter with an ankle injury, Patriots fans had to hold their breath and try not to worry. On Thursday, September 10th, it was determined that the three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver suffered a high ankle sprain and would miss a minimum of four games. Now, Adam Schefter has reported that the Patriots are putting the 29-year-old on the injured reserve because of this sprain. Ian Rapoport stated that with Brown’s injury, DaQuon Jones will take his spot on the roster for the time being.
After appearing in Super Bowl LX, New England comes into the 2026 season with a lot of questions surrounding them. The most obvious being who Drake Maye will rely on to throw the ball to over the next couple of games. Romeo Doubs signed a four-year, $68 million deal with New England, yet in Week One he did not record a single catch on three targets. Rhamondre Stevenson, Mack Hollins, and DeMario Douglas may be Maye’s most trusted options heading into Week Two and beyond. The second question has to be: How will the Patriots respond to this adversity? This is not last year’s schedule; they won’t get by with a win so easily, especially without Brown. The next four games for New England feature three opponents who were in last year’s playoffs. Next week is a matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, then a week later against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and after a Week Four encounter with the Buffalo Bills.
New England was relying on the connection between Maye and Brown throughout the entire 2026 season; however, this injury puts a damper on that at least for the time being. Seeing the three-time Pro Bowler motivated to come back from this injury and play with his childhood team again should give the Patriots hope. However, New England’s offense just lost a key piece they were hoping to rely on for all 17 games. Maye showed what he’s capable of last season; perhaps his Week One three-interception performance was a fluke, but if it wasn’t, this could be a long season for the 2026 Patriots.
