While a report indicated Patriots receiver A.J. Brown suffered a high ankle sprain, head coach Mike Vrabel declined to confirm that in his Thursday press conference.
Vrabel noted that Brown’s upcoming availability is in question after he suffered an ankle injury during Wednesday night’s loss to the Seahawks. But beyond that, the club is still evaluating the receiver.
“We’re running more tests, but we’ll update you here next week,” Vrabel said. “Wasn’t able to finish the game, and we’ll continue to evaluate, continue to run tests. But I don’t know if he’ll be available going forward here for the next week, but we’ll see.
“I know he’ll do everything that he can to get back as quickly as possible. And once we get the report, then we’ll figure out what the treatment plan is.”
Brown suffered his ankle injury early in the third quarter on Wednesday night. He was able to walk off the field and into the locker room for further evaluation.
The veteran wideout finished with three catches for 26 yards in his Patriots debut.
New England will face Pittsburgh at home in Week 2.
Patriots Clips
Wide receiver A.J. Brown’s Patriots debut came to an unhappy end in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s 13-10 loss to the Seahawks.
Brown hurt his ankle while trying to catch a pass from quarterback Drake Maye and did not return to the game. Head coach Mike Vrabel had no update to offer in his postgame press conference, but a report from NFL Media on Thursday says that the initial belief is that Brown suffered a high-ankle sprain.
Brown is set for an MRI on Thursday to determine the extent of the damage and create a sense of when he might be able to return to action.
Brown had three catches for 26 yards and drew a 34-yard pass interference penalty that set up New England’s only touchdown before leaving the game. If he’s out of the lineup, the Patriots will have to rely on Romeo Doubs, Pop Douglas, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism at receiver.
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel pointed to quarterback Drake Maye’s turnovers as the difference after losing to the Seahawks.
“You can’t throw three interceptions. Drake knows that,” Vrabel said.
The Patriots lost the game 13-10 and lost the turnover battle 3-0, as all three turnovers in the game were Maye interceptions. Given that, it’s no surprise that the Patriots lost: Last season, teams that were minus-3 or worse in turnover margin went 3-38.
“We can’t turn the ball over and we have to create more turnovers,” Vrabel said. “There’s a few things we have to eliminate that get you beat in this league.”
The Patriots’ loss was sealed when Maye threw an interception into the end zone with 21 seconds left. Vrabel defended the decision to try to score a game-winning touchdown rather than settle for a game-tying field goal, but he acknowledged the throw wasn’t what the Patriots wanted.
“We’re trying to be aggressive and win the football game, but not reckless,” Vrabel said. “It’s never just about one guy. I think everybody knows that.”
It’s not about one guy, but the Patriots’ loss to the Seahawks was primarily attributable to one guy: Maye wasn’t good enough.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye took the blame after throwing three interceptions in a 13-10 loss to the Seahawks to open the NFL season on Wednesday night.
“I thought we had the game under control,” Maye said. “I lost patience and it cost us. There were decisions that cost us the game, on my part, on my end. I vow to myself to be better and realize it’s a long season, but at the same time you can’t have those. It was unacceptable and I know I have to get back to work, because that wasn’t how I play football and how I want to represent my game and playing quarterback for the Patriots.”
With the Patriots trailing by a field goal and in field goal range in the final minute, Maye knew a turnover was the one thing the Patriots couldn’t afford. And yet he threw a pass into the end zone that Seattle’s Josh Jobe intercepted, sealing the Patriots’ loss.
“It was just unacceptable. We had a chance to send it to overtime, at the worst, and the only thing you could do was turn the ball over, and that’s what I did.”
Maye had a tremendous 2025 season, finishing second in MVP voting and leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl. But they lost the Super Bowl to the Seahawks, and los to the Seahawks again in Week 1, and Maye knows he needs to be better.
It’s still unclear what kind of injury and recovery Patriots receiver A.J. Brown is facing.
Brown went down with an ankle injury early in the third quarter of Wednesday’s 13-10 loss to the Seahawks to open the 2026 season and did not return.
“I don’t have any update yet,” head coach Mike Vrabel said postgame. “Wasn’t able to return, obviously.”
Brown was injured on an incomplete pass from Drake Maye on third down. The ball was low, leading to Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landing awkwardly on Brown’s lower leg/ankle area as he broke up the pass.
Brown stayed down for a bit before trainers came to assist him. He limped off the field and was examined in the sideline medical tent before limping up to the locker room for further examination.
Brown’s Patriots debut ended with him catching three passes on four targets for 26 yards.
The Seahawks beat the Patriots 13-10 after raising the banner for beating the same club in Super Bowl LX.
But Seattle’s celebration will likely be a bit muted, as the club has a significant injury concern with its quarterback.
Sam Darnold exited the contest after Seattle’s first series of the season with a hip injury and did not return. Darnold was sacked by Dre’Mont Jones on third-and-6 from the New England 46 — Seattle’s sixth play from scrimmage.
Darnold came off the field with a noticeable limp. He was examined in the sideline medical tent before going to the locker room for further evaluation, which was when he was announced as questionable.
Just before halftime, Seattle downgraded Darnold to out.
The quarterback completed one of his two passes for 13 yards, which was a completion to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Drew Lock replaced Darnold on the second drive and played the rest of the game.
On the other side, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw three interceptions, the last of which took New England out of the game.
With just 26 seconds left in regulation and the Patriots facing third-and-5 from Seattle’s 16-yard line, Maye was flushed out of the pocket to his right and inexplicably threw a poor jump ball to Mack Hollins in the end zone. But Josh Jobe caught the ball instead, effectively ending the contest.
The Patriots had taken a conservative offensive approach for most of the game and had a 10-3 lead entering the fourth quarter. But that’s when the meltdown started, as Maye attempted a deep pass to Romeo Doubs that was intercepted by Nathaniel Pritchett on the second play of the period.
That led to Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 45-yard touchdown catch-and-run that tied the game at 10-10.
On New England’s next possession, Romeo Doubs had a critical drop on a second-and-14 play. Doubs was wide open after Maye was able to evade the pass rush in the backfield and roll to his right. But Doubs was unable to handle the throw as it fell incomplete.
On the next play, Maye fired a pass over the middle for DeMario Douglas, but Julian Love read the play perfectly and picked the ball off to give Seattle another opportunity.
Seattle took advantage of it with Jason Myers’ 26-yard field goal to go up by three.
That’s all the Seahawks needed, as Maye threw his final interception to lose the contest.
Maye finished 22-of-33 for 178 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Maye did not have a multi-interception game last year until Super Bowl LX, also against the Seahawks. He also had 47 rushing yards on seven attempts.
Lock was 16-of-22 for 187 yards with one touchdown in relief of Darnold.
Notably, Patriots receiver A.J. Brown also suffered an ankle injury early in the third quarter and did not return.
Now at 1-0, the Seahawks will have a long layoff before facing the division-rival Cardinals on the road in Week 2.
The 0-1 Patriots will be at home to face the Steelers on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The reigning AP offensive player of the year just showed why he earned the honor.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba scored a 45-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to tie the 2026 season opener at 10-10.
After Drake Maye tossed his first interception of the year on a jump ball to Romeo Doubs, the Seahawks didn’t take long to get in the end zone for the first time this season. Facing fourth-and-1 in New England territory, quarterback Drew Lock — playing for the injured Sam Darnold — made a quick fake on a handoff and sent a short pass on the left side to a wide-open Smith-Njigba.
But from there, the receiver did the rest, turning on the burners to evade defenders for a 45-yard score.
Smith-Njigba gained 41 yards after the catch.
The fourth-year receiver now has seven catches for 111 yards with a TD
The Patriots will not have their star receiver for the rest of Wednesday’s season opener against the Seahawks.
A.J. Brown has been downgraded to out with an ankle injury.
Brown went down during the third quarter. Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landed on Brown’s ankle when breaking up a pass that was low and fell incomplete.
Brown caught three passes for 26 yards on four targets before his exit.
The Patriots have a 10-3 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Patriots receiver A.J. Brown is questionable to return with an ankle injury.
Brown went down on a third-down incompletion early in the third quarter.
The ball from Drake Maye was low, leading to Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett landing awkwardly on Brown’s lower leg/ankle area to break up the pass.
Brown stayed down before he limped off the field and went into the sideline medical tent.
So far, Brown has three catches for 26 yards on four targets in his Patriots debut.
Tight end Hunter Henry was previously in the tent for what was apparently a concussion check. He had been hit hard and had his head hit the turf following a reception early in the third quarter. But he was cleared and came back on the field later in the same drive.
The Patriots added a field goal from Andy Borregales on their first drive of the second half after a roughing the punter penalty put them back on the field. Borregales’ 50-yard attempt sailed through the uprights to give the visitors a 10-0 lead.
UPDATE 10:12 p.m. ET: Via multiple reporters on the scene, Brown has left the sideline and limped up to the locker room for further evaluation. NBC’s Melissa Stark reported Brown is receiving X-rays on his ankle.
The Seahawks have ruled out Sam Darnold’s return tonight.
The team and its fans are holding their breath that it’s not a long-term injury.
The quarterback injured his right hip on the fifth play of the season. After a sack by Patriots outside linebacker Dre’Mont Jones, Darnold limped off the field and eventually to the X-ray room.
The results of the X-ray are unknown.
Darnold went 1-of-2 for 13 yards on his only drive.
Drew Lock, who replaced Darnold, went 6-of-8 for 51 yards in the first half. The Seahawks have 120 yards and trail only 7-0 at halftime.
