The Patriots opened a 21-day return-to-practice window for A.J. Brown on Wednesday, and he was on the field as a limited participant. It was his first practice since he went on injured reserve.
He is eligible to play Sunday against the Jets at Gillette Stadium.
The Injury and the Clock
Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in the season opener at Seattle, leaving in the third quarter of a 13-10 loss at Lumen Field. He has missed the past four games.
New England now has three weeks to activate him to the 53-man roster. If Sunday is too soon, the next window is the following Thursday on the road against the Bears. Mike Vrabel said the short week would not affect the decision either way.
Vrabel praised Brown’s rehab routine and noted the obvious, which is that Brown has not been out there for four weeks. The Patriots also opened a 21-day window for swing tackle Marcus Bryant, 24, a seventh-round pick who was rolled up on during the first drive of the preseason opener.
What New England Is Getting Back
Brown is 29. The Patriots acquired him from the Eagles in June for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder, which is a real price for a receiver on the wrong side of 28.
His 2026 production is three catches for 26 yards in one game. His career is 527 receptions for 8,055 yards and 56 touchdowns in 106 games, with three Pro Bowls, three All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl LIX ring. He has topped 1,000 receiving yards in all but one of his previous seven seasons.
That is the player New England traded a first for, and it has seen one quarter of him.
The Rest of the Injury Report Is Not Encouraging
Cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who has missed two games with a shoulder injury, was also limited Wednesday. Left tackle Will Campbell and running back TreVeyon Henderson were limited as well. Receiver Mack Hollins went on injured reserve with a calf injury. Rookie Caleb Lomu has been starting at left tackle in Campbell’s place.
New England has one open active-roster spot and a full practice squad after recently adding running back Hassan Haskins and cornerback D’Shawn Jamison.
Why Sunday Makes Sense
The Patriots are 3-2 and hosting the Jets. That is the softest landing available for a receiver returning from a high ankle sprain, and high ankle sprains are the kind of injury that punishes a rushed return.
The counterargument is the calendar. New England traded two picks, including a first, for a receiver whose contract and age mean the window to use him is now rather than in 2028. Sitting him another week to protect a game it is favored in does not obviously serve anybody.
Vrabel has been careful about both halves of that. He put Brown on the practice field first and let the 21-day window do the rest of the talking. That is the correct order of operations, and it means the decision gets made on Friday rather than in a Wednesday press conference.
What It Means for the Offense
With Hollins on injured reserve and Henderson limited, New England’s skill group has been thin for a month. Brown changes the coverage math immediately even at reduced snaps, and that matters more than his own catch total in his first game back.
If he plays Sunday, expect a managed workload rather than a full one. If he does not, Thursday in Chicago becomes the date, and the Patriots will have spent five weeks of a first-round pick’s value watching him rehab.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.