Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is not too concerned about wide receiver A.J. Brown’s dislocated thumb.
Asked about Brown’s injury, Vrabel made clear that football players and coaches don’t consider dislocating a digit to be a particularly big problem.
“I think he’s going to be OK,” Vrabel said with a smile. “I told him the linemen do that every other snap, and it’s not a national story when a lineman pops his finger back in place. But we had a little bit of fun with that.”
Still, while Vrabel doesn’t think there’s anything special about a football player playing through an injured thumb, he said he has been enjoying watching Brown compete on the practice field with cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
“I appreciate what A.J. and Gonzo have done, just come in and compete and try to improve,” Vrabel said. “It’s been a good battle, and that’s pro football. I love watching it, and I think there’s a great amount of respect each of those players have for each other and understand the work that they’re putting in now is going to pay dividends in the season. I think that’s all you can ask from your front-line players, that they come out and they’re focused on getting better each day, and they’re intentional with their work. When they’re out there, it sends a clear and easy message to the rest of the team about how we’re supposed to challenge and compete. I think it’s been a good competition.”
It would take more than a dislocated thumb to keep Brown out of that competition.
