Patriots' A.J. Brown to miss his 5th game of the season due to knee injury

Big offseason acquisition A.J. Brown is not traveling with the New England Patriots this weekend to Miami to play the Dolphins. He will miss the game due to a knee injury that popped up during practice this week — and one that Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf was aware of when they traded for Brown on June 1. The Patriots will have just three healthy wide receivers: DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III. 

A first-round gamble has yet to pay off for New England

This marks the fifth game Brown will miss in the first eight weeks of the 2026 season. He previously missed four games while on injured reserve (IR) after suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Week 1 opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Brown returned to action in Week 6 against the New York Jets and played in Week 7 against the Chicago Bears before failing to finish Wednesday's practice with the knee flare-up. He did not practice on Thursday or Friday.

According to New England's team website, "New England's offense will be shorthanded in Miami without three of its top wide receivers: Brown, Doubs, and Hollins. Still, Maye can elevate his supporting cast against a Dolphins pass defense that ranks last in pass EPA (+0.298), passer rating allowed (116.8), and completion percentage allowed (76.6%). Although it's never ideal to be down three key contributors."  

A.J. Brown admits he's still fighting through high-ankle sprain

The numbers were underwhelming in Brown’s second full game with the Patriots, as he managed just three catches on six targets for 48 yards and struggled to hold up in the run game. 

The Patriots have yet to see the impact they envisioned from Brown. Through two games since his return, he has caught only six passes on 16 targets for 75 yards while adding a costly fumble. 

Brown acknowledged this week that he's not fully past the high-ankle sprain that sidelined him. The 29-year-old admitted that he's "pushing through" the lingering effects right now. He noted that his explosiveness occasionally shows up but isn't consistently where he wants it to be yet.

When asked whether he was still trying to regain his explosiveness after the injury, Brown said: "Yeah, sometimes, you know, I see it, and sometimes, I'm pushing through," he admitted. "But none of that stuff even matters. I'm out here, so I'm going."