Mike Vrabel teases big A.J. Brown development amid Patriots' injury woes

A New England Patriots side that improved to 3-2 via a dominant 45-17 blowout victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday afternoon has been without A.J. Brown since the star wide receiver and offseason acquisition suffered a high ankle sprain during New England's 13-10 campaign-opening loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9.

While speaking with reporters on Monday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel teased some Brown-related news regarding New England's Week 6 home game versus the rival New York Jets (2-3). 

Mike Vrabel is saying there's a chance for an A.J. Brown return? 

Per Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network and ESPN, Vrabel said that there's "a chance" Brown could play against the Jets.

"I don’t know. Whenever he’ll be back, he should help up," Vrabel said about a potential Brown return during an early-morning appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI, as shared by Lauren Campbell of MassLive. "I hope that he’s going to help us. But that remains to be seen yet when he’ll be back. So, we’ll see how he does today and move from there." 

Much was said and written about the struggles that New England quarterback Drake Maye endured through the end of Week 3 after he stopped having Brown as a weapon. However, Maye looked like the best version of his on-the-field self when he completed 26-of-34 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns against the Raiders. He also added a rushing score in the lopsided victory.

Mike Vrabel praises Will Campbell replacement ahead of Jets clash

As Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald noted, Patriots starting left tackle Will Campbell reportedly suffered a sprained knee in the win over the Raiders. On Monday, Vrabel said that "we’ll take it day-by-day" and "keep you updated on the injury report" regarding Campbell's status for the Jets game. 

Rookie Caleb Lomu played well while filling in for Campbell on Sunday. 

"I don’t think it was too big for him," Vrabel said about Lomu being called into action against the Raiders. "I think he was able to settle down, and we didn’t really notice him a lot. So I think that’s probably a good thing. Was able to anchor at times on some power, and allowed Drake to be able to transfer up into the pocket, and I thought it worked together well with AVT (left guard Alijah Vera-Tucker) when they got in there."

Jets rookie pass-rusher David Bailey is coming off a stellar performance in New York's 17-12 win over the Cleveland Browns, and he could make things difficult for Maye throughout the Week 6 matchup. Despite uncertainty related to Campbell's availability, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Patriots as seven-point home favorites over the Jets as of Monday afternoon.