It's not official yet, but the New England Patriots could be getting a major piece of their offense back this week.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Patriots "will likely" activate wide receiver A.J. Brown from injured reserve to play this week against the New York Jets. The star wideout, who suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 1, returned to practice and participated in a limited capacity.
The Patriots do have an open spot on the 53-man roster, allowing Brown to be added straight to the active roster. Should the team not activate him, they'll have a 21-day window for him to return. He was listed as questionable for this week's game.
As of Friday afternoon, it was up in the air if Brown would play or not.
"We won't make that decision until tomorrow, so we'll have to see how he responds from practice today and then go from there," head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters.
Brown Has Been Active Despite Not Playing
The Patriots traded two draft picks (including their first rounder in 2028) for Brown's services, but haven't been able to enjoy his talents. He caught just three passes against the Seattle Seahawks in the opener, but has missed the last four games on the sideline.
Still, he's been engaged with his teammates and coaches. Brown was spotted in the locker room the past two weeks, often in cleats and chatting with Drake Maye. He's also been active on social media, cheering on his fellow wide receivers during games.
Without Brown (and Mack Hollins, who was placed on IR following the Patriots' 29-26 win over the Buffalo Bills), the Patriots had just four wideouts active — Romeo Doubs, Kyle Williams, DeMario Douglas and Efton Chism III.
"I feel like the guys did a great job. You know, last week (against the Las Vegas Raiders) was phenomenal," Brown said. "Obviously, there were still things to improve on and they would tell you that, but I think they did really well. Whenever I do decide to come back, I just want to add and continue to keep putting it out on display."
Brown will be a big jolt for a Patriots offense that's started to find its footing in recent weeks. Struggles early in the year put the team in a rut, but now they've started to open up (and it helps that Maye is playing lights out again). Now that they can add their top-tier pass catcher to that unit, the Patriots should be firing on all cylinders this week.
Vrabel said that this week of practice was good for Brown to get back into the swing of things.
"I mean, I think he looks OK," Vrabel said. "Like everybody, some good plays, some bad plays. I try to see where his conditioning level is."
The Patriots will announce any other roster moves at 4 p.m. today.
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