A.J.Brown

News: 7 hours agoPatriots head coach Mike Vrabel said Monday that Brown (ankle) has "a chance" to return to practice this week, Mark Daniels of MassLive.com reports.

Spin: After landing on injured reserve following the Patriots' season-opening loss to the Seahawks, Brown has now missed the required four games and is eligible for activation beginning this week. Before the Patriots consider adding him back to the 53-man roster, however, Brown will need to have his 21-day practice window opened. The wideout was spotted walking without a limp last week, which suggests that he's made good progress in his recovery from a right high-ankle sprain and may be ready to mix into drills. If Brown ends up getting cleared to practice this week and looks good during his on-field work, he could have a realistic shot at suiting up this Sunday versus the Jets.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Brown was traded to the Patriots in June. The veteran receiver enters 2026 looking to continue his streak of finishing in the top 15 in fantasy points per game during each of the four seasons he was with the Eagles. That includes an 11th-place finish in 2025 in which Brown reached the 1,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his seven NFL seasons while finding the end zone exactly seven times for the third year in a row. Brown continues to benefit from elite usage (he has finished no lower than seventh among WRs in target share each of the past seven seasons) and elite efficiency (he has finished 80th percentile or better in yards per route run all seven years). He could use more end zone targets in New England (he had a career-low four last season), but Brown, 29, is set to work as Drake Maye's top target in a good Patriots' offense. He is a fringe fantasy WR1.