A.J.Brown

News: 1 day agoBrown (knee/ankle) has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, Ian Rapoport of ESPN and NFL Network reports.

Spin: Brown entered the weekend with the questionable tag despite being held out of practice both Thursday and Friday, and the knee injury that flared up during Wednesday's session is severe enough for the veteran wide receiver to miss Sunday's AFC East tilt. With Brown sidelined, the Patriots' pass-catching group will be led by DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism and tight end Hunter Henry. Brown's next opportunity to play is Week 9 against the Packers on Sunday, Nov. 8.

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.