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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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A.J. Brown went down with an ankle injury in the New England Patriots' season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks nearly two months ago. An MRI later confirmed it was a high ankle sprain, and the team placed him on Injured Reserve soon after, costing him the next four games. His Patriots debut ended with just three catches on four targets for 26 yards.
Brown returned against the New York Jets in Week 6, but finished that game with three catches on 10 targets for a mere 27 yards, and then hauled in three catches for 48 yards the following week against the Chicago Bears. But he missed last week's win over the Miami Dolphins with a knee issue and didn't participate in practice all week.
Now, it looks like Drake Maye will be without his No. 1 receiver once again, with head coach Mike Vrabel officially ruling Brown out for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers.
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The latest report means Brown will now have missed six of nine games in his first season in New England. That's not what Patriots fans were expecting when the team traded a first-round pick (and a fifth-rounder) to get him, or for a player making $32 million per year. Even in the three games he's appeared in this year, Brown has been outplayed by the likes of Mack Hollins, Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, and Hunter Henry.
The fact that he's been ruled out Sunday against the Packers isn't entirely surprising given that he missed every practice this week. But it adds to Brown's frustrating first season with the Patriots, and now there are even growing concerns about the condition of his knee, with some questioning how much longer he can truly keep playing at an elite level.
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Without Brown, Maye will need to keep spreading the ball around. Douglas is New England's leading receiver on the year with 26 catches for 332 yards and four touchdowns, followed by Henry with 29 catches for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Efton Chism III has also stepped up recently, hauling in a team-high five catches for 37 yards in last week's win over the Dolphins. Those receivers should all have important roles against Green Bay.
As for Brown's return, there's no set timeline. He could be back next week against the Detroit Lions, which will be played in Munich, Germany, but with a Week 11 bye, the Patriots might also choose to play it safe and hold him out for that game as well.
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