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By Michael Gallagher
Sports Content Coordinator
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The New England Patriots have stayed in the thick of the AFC race without much help from their biggest offseason addition.
Since sending a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for wide receiver A.J. Brown in June, the Patriots have gotten just three games out of him. New England will be without him again on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers visit Gillette Stadium.
However, his absence may not last as long as his first did earlier this year.
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NFL insider Tom Pelissero shed light on Brown’s timeline in his Saturday edition of “The Sweep” on Substack.
“Patriots WR A.J. Brown will miss his second consecutive game because of problems with the same knee that has bothered him periodically throughout his career,” Pelissero wrote. “Playing two games in five days may have triggered the latest episode, but New England is optimistic he’ll be back sooner rather than later, perhaps after the Week 11 bye.”
That timeline would keep Brown out of the Patriots’ Week 10 game against the Detroit Lions in Munich on Nov. 15. His first chance to return would be Week 12, when New England visits the Los Angeles Chargers on “Sunday Night Football” on Nov. 29.
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It’s been a frustrating first season in Foxborough for Brown, a three-time Pro Bowler. He suffered a high ankle sprain in his Patriots debut — a 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1 — and spent four games on injured reserve.
He returned in Week 6 against the New York Jets but had a rough day, totaling just three catches for 27 yards on 10 targets with a career-high three drops. Four days later, he caught three of six targets for 48 yards in a 30-24 loss to the Chicago Bears on “Thursday Night Football.”
Then the knee flared up at practice the following week, and the Patriots ruled him out against the Miami Dolphins.
The knee issue isn’t new, but it hadn’t cost him much time recently either. Patriots executive Eliot Wolf noted that Brown missed only one game because of a knee problem over his final three seasons in Philadelphia.
The receiver room is still thin though. Mack Hollins has been on injured reserve since Week 5, and Romeo Doubs (shoulder) joined him after Week 6. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Doubs is also hopeful to return after the bye, and Hollins was activated off IR on Saturday.
If Brown and Doubs both come back healthy after the bye, the Patriots would get the best version of their receiving corps they’ve had all year without having to make a move before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
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