FOXBORO — He's yet to be officially added to the 53-man roster, but New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown was back at practice Wednesday. The star wideout, who has been on IR since after the team's season-opening loss in Seattle, now has 21 days to be activated to the active roster as the team designated him to return.
Brown has been present in the locker room over the past two weeks, often walking in with cleats on and a slight wrap on his right ankle. His high-ankle sprain held him off the field, but hasn't kept him away from his teammates.
"I think he's stayed engaged. I think it's difficult sometimes to stay engaged, but I think his routine was really good," head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters Wednesday. "(His) ability to be around guys in the meetings, and then also focus on his rehab and just treat everything as a pro and be where he's supposed to be and work hard to get back."
Now that Brown is in uniform practicing and nearing his return, here's how the Patriots' wide receiver room is impacted.
Adding True Deep Threat
Brown's ability to stretch the field and be the team's go-to weapon past the sticks is part of the reason why the Patriots traded a first round pick for him in June. We haven't been able see that part of his game yet, but it's coming.
Drake Maye did try to take a shot deep to Brown in Week 1, but Josh Jobe was flagged for defensive pass interference and the ball fell incomplete. The Patriots would score on that drive on a pass to Eli Raridon, but Brown wasn't used in any deep routes for the remainder of his time on the field.
Since he's been out, the Patriots have relied a lot of Romeo Doubs and Kyle Williams to stretch the field down the sidelines. It's worked in spurts, but it hasn't been as consistent as the Patriots might have hoped. Getting Brown back will unlock that part of Maye's passing arsenal.
Elevate Already-Potent Passing Attack
Maye has thrown for seven touchdowns in the last two weeks, and has seemingly found his groove slinging the football. He was able to connect with Doubs twice, DeMario Douglas twice, and Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III once each.
That's a group that really doesn't offer the same level of threat that Brown has, but the Patriots got outstanding production out of them four. With Brown now sliding into that mix, his ceiling is far higher than any other wideout on the team.
If Maye has been able to tap into the skills he had a season ago with that group, imagine what he can do once Brown straps the pads on Sundays.
Cutting Into Younger WRs' Playing Times
But because Brown is returning, that means that the snaps that Douglas and Williams got a week ago might start to dwindle. Last week against Las Vegas, the Patriots were down Mack Hollins (who was placed on IR with a calf injury suffered in Buffalo). His absence allowed the likes of Douglas, Williams and Chism to step into larger roles they might not have been in otherwise.
With Brown back in the WR1 role, he'll certainly get the lion's share of targets and receptions outside the numbers. The Patriots will still rely on Doubs across the middle and Douglas/Chism in the slot, but one would imagine that the passing game will now flow through Brown — and not the others.
No Need For Major Trade
A few weeks ago, you could make the argument that the Patriots might entertain a trade for a receiver like Brian Thomas Jr. or Marvin Harrison Jr. (who's now been sent to the Houston Texans). While that felt unlikely considering the captial the team gave up to get Brown in the first place, if the Patriots didn't expect him to come back quickly, they could have gotten on the phone to try and make a move.
Instead, this is their big "trade" acqusition. Getting Brown back, a healthy Brown back, should be the cherry on top of what was back-to-back great offensive showings. If he can remain on the field and a legit threat every single week, the Patriots will enjoy their return on investment they made back in June.
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