ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Thursday that A.J. Brown‘s knee injury could keep the Patriots wide receiver out of Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers. If Brown sits out, he will have played in only three of New England’s nine games.
Boston.com reported that Brown missed the Patriots’ road game against the Miami Dolphins last week after a flare-up in his knee and has not practiced this week. Schefter, speaking on ESPN’s Get Up, said the knee is the injury driving the missed time.
“It flared up. … I know it says ankle and knee [on New England’s injury report], but it’s the knee,” Schefter said. “The knee held him out last week, and the knee is threatening to hold him out this week.”
What Schefter Said About the A.J. Brown Knee Injury
New England’s injury report lists both the ankle and the knee. Schefter told ESPN’s audience that the knee is the issue behind the absences, and he framed it beyond the week-to-week question.
“It’s a knee that I think raises some concerns as to how long he’s gonna keep playing here in New England, and producing at a high level,” Schefter said.
Boston.com reported Brown is 29 years old and that a second straight missed game would leave him with three appearances in nine games. Schefter’s remarks were his own assessment of the knee, delivered on ESPN’s morning program as New England prepared for the Packers.
Eliot Wolf’s Account of the Knee Exam
Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf told Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein that the team was aware of a degenerative knee condition before it traded for Brown, and that its medical staff cleared the move.
“It’s a factor, but we examined him,” Wolf told Epstein. “He’s got a knee that has some wear and tear that we were aware of. Our training staff and medical staff signed off on it.”
Wolf’s comments to Epstein describe the medical review that preceded the June deal, and they place the wear-and-tear finding inside New England’s own evaluation of Brown before he played a snap for the Patriots.
A Receiver Group Also Missing Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins
Boston.com reported that New England’s wide receiver group is currently playing without Romeo Doubs and Mack Hollins. Brown’s missed time has arrived with those two receivers already unavailable, thinning the group of pass catchers around quarterback Drake Maye.
Brown has appeared in three of New England’s eight games before Sunday, according to Boston.com’s count, a total that includes the Dolphins game he sat out in Miami last week.
Schefter’s concern went past the Packers game to whether the knee allows Brown to keep producing at the level that made him the centerpiece of the Patriots’ offseason. He tied that question directly to the interest other teams showed in Brown before the trade.
Inside the Trade That Brought Brown From Philadelphia
The Patriots acquired Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles in June for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, Boston.com reported. The compensation is detailed in Patriots Acquire A.J. Brown.
Schefter said the knee question predates the deal. “One of the reasons that I believe there wasn’t more interest [in Brown] was there were some teams that had some questions about his knee,” he said.
Schefter also described advanced trade discussions involving the Los Angeles Rams that he said were at one point close to completion before the Rams traded for Trent McDuffie and Myles Garrett. In his account, Los Angeles carried its own reservations about Brown’s knee.
“If the trade for A.J. Brown had gone through, would it change the entire season? I think the Rams had some concerns about his knee,” Schefter said. “Well, the concerns that other teams have had have now manifested themselves in New England this season.”
Mike Vrabel Keeps the Focus on Green Bay
Coach Mike Vrabel was asked Wednesday about concern for Brown’s knee and directed his answer to the Packers. “My concern is about trying to prepare for the Packers,” Vrabel said.
He described where that attention goes during the practice week. “That’s really my only concern, trying to figure out what we do today, on first and second down, how we practice, and how we can carry over the second half of last week’s football game to where we look like somewhat of the expectations that I would expect us to look like.”
“Certainly the health of the team is critical, but we have to make sure that the guys that are practicing are preparing for Green Bay,” Vrabel said.
Green Bay on Sunday
New England hosts the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, the matchup Boston.com described as an anticipated one. The game is the ninth on the Patriots’ schedule in the count Boston.com used for Brown’s availability.
