The New England Patriots have managed to turn their season around without getting much from their colossal offseason addition.
Drake Maye sounds eager to see what changes when A.J. Brown gets back into the mix.
Brown returned to practice Wednesday, Oct. 14, for the first time since suffering a high-ankle sprain in New England’s season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Maye reacted after getting his star receiver back on the field.
“Looking forward to seeing him progress,” Maye said, via NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry. “There’s not many like him in this league.”
New England is 3-2 after consecutive victories, and Maye is fresh off one of the biggest performances of his career. Brown potentially rejoining him gives the Patriots another reason for optimism entering Sunday’s AFC East matchup against the New York Jets.
Maye Rolling as A.J. Brown Nears Return
Brown was back at practice after the Patriots officially opened his 21-day return window from injured reserve Wednesday.
Head coach Mike Vrabel has stopped short of declaring Brown ready for Week 6. Brown can practice for up to three weeks before New England must activate him to the 53-man roster.
“He hasn’t been out there for four weeks,” Vrabel said, via CBS Boston. “So we’ll get him back out there practicing, see if he’s ready to go in a couple days.”
Brown caught three passes for 26 yards before injuring his ankle against Seattle and has missed four consecutive games.
In his absence, Maye has helped the Patriots build some momentum offensively. The third-year quarterback completed 26 of 34 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns in New England’s 45-17 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 11. He also ran for a touchdown, tallying five total scores in the blowout.
The Patriots enter Week 6 ranked eighth in the NFL with 372.4 yards per game, per the team’s official game preview vs. the Jets.
Adding a receiver Maye believes has few peers around the league could raise the ceiling even further.
Patriots Near Unleashing Maye-Brown Connection
New England made a major commitment to Brown before seeing him alongside Maye.
The Patriots acquired the three-time Pro Bowler from the Philadelphia Eagles during the offseason in exchange for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-rounder.
Brown entered 2026 with four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and has 527 receptions, 8,055 yards and 56 touchdowns in his career.
Yet Maye and Brown have effectively had one regular-season game together.
That makes Wednesday’s practice more than another injury update for a Patriots team trying to build on consecutive wins. It’s Maye’s first chance in more than a month to begin nailing down the timing with the most expert receiver on New England’s roster.
If that leads to Brown playing against the Jets is unclear.
His quarterback made his opinion of Brown’s potential impact obvious, though.
“There’s not many like him in this league.”
A.J. Brown Gets Return Message from Patriots’ Drake Maye