The Patriots’ nightmare start to the season just got even worse.
A.J. Brown is expected to miss at least four weeks with a high-ankle sprain.
Brown suffered the injury during New England’s 13-10 loss to Seattle when Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landed on his right ankle while defending a pass early in the third quarter. X-rays were negative, but an MRI confirmed the high-ankle sprain.
That’s a massive blow.
New England traded for Brown this offseason specifically to give Drake Maye a legitimate No. 1 receiver. Instead, Brown’s Patriots debut lasted just over a half.
He finished with three catches for 26 yards, while also drawing a 34-yard pass interference penalty that helped set up New England’s only touchdown.
Then everything fell apart.
Brown left the game, Maye threw three fourth-quarter interceptions, and Seattle erased a 10-0 deficit to win.
Now Maye has to figure things out without arguably the most important player in New England’s offense.
The Patriots will likely have to rely much more heavily on Romeo Doubs, DeMario Douglas, Mack Hollins and Kyle Williams while Brown recovers.
And the upcoming schedule isn’t exactly forgiving.
New England gets Pittsburgh next before road games against Jacksonville and Buffalo — all three were playoff teams last season.
The good news is that this doesn’t appear to be a season-ending injury.
But after trading for Brown to help take this offense to another level, potentially losing him for a month immediately after Week 1 is about as bad of a start as the Patriots could have imagined.
New England needs A.J. Brown back quickly.
