A.J. Brown Injury Update: How Long Is Patriots WR Out With Ankle Injury?

Not only did the New England Patriots lose the regular-season rematch of Super Bowl LX, but one of the top players went down in the process. During Wednesday night’s opener vs. the Seattle Seahawks, WR A.J. Brown sustained a painful ankle injury. 

Brown didn’t return to the contest and has since gained clarity on the severity of his ailment. How long will the star pass catcher be out? 

Below, we’ll discuss the latest A.J. Brown injury update and outline its potential impact on Patriots fantasy football picks and player projections for PrizePicks. 

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A.J. Brown Injury Update: Brown to IR With Ankle Injury Suffered in Week 1

Although Brown’s injury isn’t season-ending, it does knock him out of the lineup for quite some time. On Sunday morning, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that it’s a high-ankle sprain for the former Philadelphia Eagles standout, resulting in him going on the injured reserve list.

The minimum requirement of missed time is four games, but Rapoport is told that Brown’s absence could extend out to six weeks. 

“He has a high-ankle sprain,” Rapoport began. “My understanding is the expectation is he misses six weeks. Generally, these are four to six, [but] this is a little more serious. Six weeks, no surgery planned.” 

Brown’s ankle injury was the result of Seahawks CB Nehemiah Pritchett rolling up on his leg. He managed to play 31 snaps in the opener, hauling in 3 passes on 4 targets for 26 yards and a pair of first downs.

A three-time Pro Bowler split between his time with the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles, Brown has registered at least 1,000 receiving yards and 7 TDs in each of the last four seasons. He now faces an uphill battle to approach those benchmarks in 2026, as he could miss the following Patriots contests:

• Week 2: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 3: at Jacksonville Jaguars
• Week 4: at Buffalo Bills
• Week 5: vs. Las Vegas Raiders
• Week 6: vs. New York Jets
• Week 7: at Chicago Bears

Per RBSDM, QB Drake Maye managed to finish Week 1 averaging 0.12 EPA per play, although New England struggled to establish itself on early downs (0.00 EPA/play on early passes). Of all the Pats’ offensive weapons, his highest EPA/play (0.92) occurred on throws to Brown. 

Patriots Fantasy Football Outlook: Who Will QB Drake Maye Target in Passing Game?

If you’re the Patriots or a fantasy football manager who has Brown, you may be scrambling to figure out what to do now that the wideout is hurt. 

He’s coming off a 121-target campaign in Philly and was slated to receive a hefty role in New England’s offense, placing additional pressure on the rest of the MVP runner-up’s weapons to rise to the occasion minus one of the biggest trade pieces of the year. 

Should Maye be able to make things work without Brown, he’d undoubtedly generate some buzz. Over on PrizePicks, a correct prediction for him to lead the NFL in regular-season passing yards returns a 14.28x payout. The same payout applies for a prediction on him recording the most passing yards in Weeks 1-18. 

As far as fantasy land is concerned, replacing Brown is a tall task. According to Fantasy Pros’ real-time average draft position, he’s coming off boards at 18th overall, good for WR7. No one else on the Patriots can sniff that status, but Maye does have some options to work with.

Naturally, the prime replacement for Brown’s production seems to be WR Romeo Doubs. He’s WR2 in town after inking a four-year, $68 million contract during the offseason, and don’t let Week 1’s 3-target, no-catch showing fool you. He’s a significant component of the offense.

A sleeper player to keep in mind is WR DeMario “Pop” Douglas. Maye targeted him on seven occasions vs. Seattle, albeit on a 6.3-yard average depth of target that marks a sizable decline from 2025’s 9.9 mark. If the plan is for New England to get Douglas the ball in space and let him create, he becomes an intriguing candidate to step up.

At the TE position, Hunter Henry is unquestionably the top name to monitor. He logged 1.65 yards per route run in 2025, via SumerSports, in addition to an 18.0% target share and 70.95 total EPA on the year. Among all pass catchers a campaign ago, his 22 red-zone targets were good for sixth. 

On PrizePicks, New England returns a 16.66x payout with a correct prediction of “Yes” to Win Super Bowl LXI with a 1.01x payout for “No.”

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The Patriots barely had any time to get their huge offseason addition acclimated, as Brown is already set to miss extended time with his high-ankle sprain. New England very well could weather the storm, but it’ll take some inspired performances from Maye and his arsenal of receivers. 

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