After forcing his way out of Philadelphia via an offseason trade to the New England Patriots, NFL All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown might not be forcing anything for the foreseeable future.
Brown was forced out of Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks early in the 2nd half, and multiple reports Thursday morning clarified the injury was what it looked like initially — a high-ankle sprain.
“Patriots WR AJ Brown, who left last night’s opener because of an injury, is believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on Thursday. “X-Rays were negative for a fracture. Brown has an MRI today to determine how much time he’ll miss.”
The MRI is where the rubber truly meets the road — depending on what type of high ankle sprain Brown suffered, there are wild variations to how long he could be out.
“Sources: Patriots WR A.J. Brown suffered a high-ankle sprain during Wednesday night’s game vs the Seahawks,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account.
“The high ankle sprain is a lot worse; there are situations where a broken ankle is a lot better than a high-ankle sprain,” ESPN NFL analyst, former NFL wide receiver, and Academy Award winner Andrew Hawkins said on Thursday morning.
Figuring Out A.J. Brown’s Recovery Time
There are essentially 3 different levels of severity when it comes to high ankle sprains — for Brown, that means an MRI will determine how bad things are right now.
For a Grade 1 sprain, the projected recovery time is 1-3 weeks before the ankle can be pushed for high-impact activity.
For a Grade 2 sprain, the recovery time is 3-8 weeks, indicates a partial tear in the tendon, and requires a walking boot, which Brown was seen in after Wednesday night’s game.
The worst-case scenario is a Grade 3 high ankle sprain, which means a complete tear or rupture and would require 3 to 6 months of recovery — essentially ending Brown’s season.
Cowboys Star Could Provide Clues on Recovery
The video of Brown’s injury looked eerily similar to the high-ankle sprain suffered by Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in Week 4 of the 2025 regular season.
Lamb’s injury sidelined him for the next 3 games.
“A.J. Brown Right high-ankle sprain, no fracture,” Dr. Jesse Morse wrote on his official X account on Thursday morning. “MRI later today to confirm severity. Grade 1: Out 1-2 weeks. Grade 2: Out 3-6 weeks. Grade 3: Out 6-8 weeks (unlikely). Best-case scenario: he ONLY misses Week 2 and returns in a limited fashion for Week 3. The energy was distributed through the high (syndesmotic) and medial (deltoid) ligaments. The deltoid ligament was stronger and held up; the high-ankle wasn’t. Likely could have been much worse.”
Former Eagles WR A.J. Brown Gets Bad Injury News After Opener