The New England Patriots face a difficult assignment as they look for their second win in a row when they face the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium in a late afternoon game Sunday.
In their comeback victory over the Miami Dolphins last week, the Patriots relied on quarterback Drake Maye to distribute the ball among second-tier receivers such as Efton Chism (five catches, 37 yards), DeMario Douglas (3-76) and Kyle Williams (1-43).
But on Friday, the Patriots received more bad news on the offseason acquisition who was supposed to be their top receiver.
A.J. Brown missed practice again Friday, his fifth straight absence, leaving the New England Patriots receiver’s availability against Green Bay in doubt.
Brown has dressed for only three of New England’s eight games, and a knee flare-up now threatens to sideline him again with no clear timetable for his return.
Patriots’ A.J. Brown Practice Streak and Knee Injury
Brown remained sidelined Friday, according to the Boston Herald‘s Doug Kyed. He also sat out Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Patriots’ injury report.
The knee flared up during practice last Wednesday, and Brown missed Thursday and Friday before sitting out the Patriots’ 24-19 win at the Miami Dolphins. NFL Network‘s Ian Rapoport reported the flare-up Oct. 29, according to Bleacher Report.
“He’s missed the last four practices due to the knee injury,” MassLive reporter Mark Daniels wrote Thursday. Friday made it five.
The knee is a known issue. Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf said in June that Brown has a degenerative knee condition, citing “wear and tear that we were aware of,” according to Bleacher Report.
Brown also is managing the high ankle sprain he suffered in the Sept. 9 season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks, an injury that sent him to injured reserve, according to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter.
Odds of Brown Playing Against the Green Bay Packers
Players who did not practice on their last day of the week played only 29% of the time from 2017 to 2023, and players with knee injuries played 28%, according to Footballguys‘ Adam Hutchison.
Questionable players who missed their final practice played 48.4% of the time since 2020, while doubtful players who did not practice played 1.5%, according to WillHePlay‘s practice report database. Neither dataset tracks multiweek streaks like Brown’s.
Analysts see the same trend. Brown “seems highly unlikely to play” against the Packers, NBC Sports‘ Nic Bodiford wrote Thursday.
Coach Mike Vrabel confirmed Wednesday that Brown sat out because of the knee, according to The Athletic‘s Chad Graff. Asked whether Brown could return to injured reserve, Vrabel neither confirmed nor ruled out the move, according to Yahoo Sports.
How the Patriots Landed A.J. Brown
The Philadelphia Eagles traded Brown to New England on June 1 for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick, the better of the Patriots’ two fifths, according to ESPN‘s Adam Schefter. The deal reunited Brown with Vrabel, his coach in Tennessee from 2019 to 2021, and handed quarterback Drake Maye a No. 1 target. Waiting until after June 1 let Philadelphia split more than $43 million in dead cap across 2026 and 2027, according to ESPN‘s Mike Reiss.
Skepticism about the knee predates the trade. The Los Angeles Rams backed away from a deal for Brown partly over concerns about it, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Albert Breer.
Brown, 29, left Ole Miss as the school’s career receiving leader with 2,984 yards before the Tennessee Titans drafted him 51st overall in 2019, according to the Titans’ official site. Philadelphia acquired him on draft night in 2022, and he helped the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX.
The Starkville, Mississippi, native is a three-time Pro Bowler and three-time AP second-team All-Pro who entered 2026 with 524 receptions, 8,029 yards and 56 touchdowns in 105 games, according to the Patriots’ team website. He has dressed for three of eight games this season and caught nine passes for 101 yards, according to Fox Sports.
Patriots Receive More Bad A.J. Brown Injury News Before Packers Game