Injuries are always a part of the NFL, but they have been particularly invasive in Week 1 of the 2026 season. Shortly after Sam Darnold was ruled out for the Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots‘ recently-acquired WR1 A.J. Brown exited the game and has been ruled out.
Brown suffered an ankle injury in a catch attempt against Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett. Without Brown, the Patriots must look at the rest of their wide receiver room for help against an elite defense. “Brown has now been ruled out for the remainder of tonight’s game.,” the Patriots announced.
With Brown sidelined, the Patriots will be turning to DeMario Douglas, Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, and Kyle Williams. Those are all their active options to finish Week 1’s visit to the Seahawks. New England is already missing TreVeyon Henderson for Week 1, so Brown’s setback adds another dramatic layer to an already injury-riddled offense.
A.J. Brown’s numbers in Patriots debut
Needless to say, Brown didn’t have the debut he expected with the Patriots. Until he left the game with an ankle injury, Brown caught only three passes (out of four targets) for 26 yards.
A.J. Brown in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
Still, because the Super Bowl LX rematch between the Seahawks and Patriots was quite uneventful, Brown led his team in receiving yards while he was on the gridiron at Lumen Field. His production was nothing to write home about, though. In fact, it raised eyebrows.
For the second straight season, even on a completely different team and in a different system, Brown was practically MIA. Last year, Brown caught only one pass for eight yards in Week 1. These slow starts to the year may be becoming a common theme, and a worrisome one at that.
Brown’s contract
Brown carries a $7.04 million cap hit in the 2026 NFL season. His contract, which runs through 2030, will see its cap hit steadily rise to $10.9 million in 2027, $17.8 million in 2028, $23.6 million in 2029 and $53.5 million in 2030.
Because Brown signed the deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, it’s expected that he and the Patriots will sit down at some point and negotiate a contract restructure. If Brown’s injury turns out to be serious, it could change everything, though.
