The New England Patriots are placing wide receiver A.J. Brown on injured reserve due to his high ankle sprain, sidelining him for at least four games, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Friday.
An MRI confirmed that Brown suffered a high ankle sprain during Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks that was expected to sideline him for at least four weeks, a source told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Thursday.
X-rays did not reveal a fracture.
The Patriots will be without Brown for the Sept. 20 home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 27) and Buffalo Bills (Oct. 4). New England then has back-to-back home games against the Las Vegas Raiders (Oct. 11) and New York Jets (Oct. 18).
Brown had quickly emerged as quarterback Drake Maye's go-to target in the receiver's debut for the team.
Veteran Mack Hollins took over the majority of Brown's role Wednesday after he left the game early in the third quarter. The Patriots will also need more from Romeo Doubs, who had a costly drop and finished without a catch in his Patriots debut after signing a four-year, $68 million free agent contract in the offseason.
Four-year veteran DeMario Douglas (slot) and second-year players Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III are also on the depth chart. Wide receiver was one of the team's deepest positions in training camp, leading to the trade of former starter Kayshon Boutte to the Houston Texans.
"Any injury that you get at this time of the season, you kind of approach it with an all-hands-on-deck approach," Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Thursday on sports radio WEEI. "We got a lot of different skill guys that can do a lot of different things. There isn't one person on the roster that can replace anybody like A.J. -- in the middle of a game or a stretch of a season. So we'll band together and figure out what we can do well and then try to get guys in positions to play to their strengths."
Brown remained down after a third-down incompletion in which Maye was throwing in his direction with Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett in tight coverage. Pritchett's right knee appeared to land on Brown's ankle with the force of his body weight. Brown grabbed for the back of his right leg as he sat up.
He slowly walked to the sideline, going into the medical tent for an extended period. He then walked to the locker room with members of the athletic training and medical staff.
The Patriots traded a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick to acquire Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles on June 1.
Earlier in the game, Brown helped set up the Patriots' first touchdown by coming back for an underthrown deep ball by Maye and drawing a defensive pass interference penalty. Maye hit rookie tight end Eli Raridon for a 2-yard touchdown on the next play.
