The Patriots are making final preparations for an AFC East matchup with the Jets and have officially activated star WR A.J. Brown (ankle) from injured reserve for Sunday.
On Saturday, the Patriots activated the star wideout from injured reserve after a four-game absence with a high-ankle sprain. Along with Brown, New England also elevated DB Elliott Davison and released RB Hassan Haskins from the practice squad. The Patriots did not activate second-year OT Marcus Bryant or elevate a running back, suggesting starting LT Will Campbell (knee, questionable) and RB TreVeyon Henderson (ankle, questionable) are trending toward playing Sunday.
Brown returns to the lineup over five weeks after he suffered a high-ankle sprain 30 snaps into his Patriots debut in Seattle. Brown, a lifelong Pats fan, had to put his highly anticipated Patriots career on hold when he went down on a low catch attempt early in the third quarter vs. the Seahawks. Although it was a small sample, Brown had already caught three passes for 26 yards and drew a 34-yard pass interference penalty that set up New England's lone touchdown.
The Patriots traded a 2028 first-round draft pick for Brown in June to be QB Drake Maye's go-to target, pairing the veteran wideout with free-agent addition Romeo Doubs. After exciting flashes in training camp, we haven't seen the Patriots offense at full strength with a healthy Brown outside of two-plus quarters in Week 1. Although it's great that Brown is returning, the team will likely ease him back into the offense.
New England will travel to Chicago on a short week to face the Bears on Thursday Night Football in Week 7. The Pats will play two games in five days, which could factor into how much Brown plays on Sunday. With little practice time in between, Sunday's game might be a ramp-up for Brown rather than a return to his usual workload, as he works to regain conditioning after a four-week layoff. Still, as Maye said earlier this week, Brown's presence alone will help the Patriots offense against their division rival on Sunday.
"It definitely opens up other parts of the field and other parts of the game for guys. I think you see it in the NBA; it's probably the closest thing that I can think of. When they start doubling the best player once they get past half court, they're leaving a corner three open or a guy open for a dunk. So, it's kind of like playing receiver and with a guy like that – we've got a lot of guys that have made plays now, so it's going to be tough on defenses," Maye said.
To the Pats quarterback's point, Brown is re-joining a wide receiver group that all contributed to the offense's 45-point breakout performance vs. the Raiders last week. The star wideout will likely log most of his snaps at the 'X' receiver position with Doubs and possibly WR Efton Chism III playing as the other base receiver (Z). Then, slot WR DeMario Douglas will come in on passing downs, and second-year wideout Kyle Williams can cycle in at the 'X' to spell Brown. After months of build-up, it should be exciting to see Brown play at Gillette Stadium for the first time on Sunday.
As for the moves the Patriots didn't make, New England is holding off another week on activating second-year OT Marcus Bryant (ankle) from injured reserve. Bryant opened his 21-day practice window on Wednesday, Oct. 14, the same day as Brown, meaning the team has until Nov. 4 to activate him. The Pats used one of their eight designated-to-return spots on Bryant by designating him on roster cutdown day, so one would think they'd eventually put Bryant on the 53-man roster rather than burn a designation.
That said, the Patriots only had one open spot on the active roster, which went to Brown, while Bryant remaining on injured reserve signals that starting LT Will Campbell (knee, questionable) will play on Sunday. Campbell suffered his knee injury when he was rolled up on during a run play in the second quarter last week. Campbell didn't return to the win over the Raiders, but he told reporters that his knee injury isn't as serious as the MCL sprain that landed him on injured reserve in 2025. With first-rounder Caleb Lomu as injury insurance in case Campbell's knee flares up, the Patriots opted to hold off on Bryant's activation.
At running back, the Patriots could've elevated RB Lan Larison for the second time this season with RB TreVeyon Henderson (ankle) carrying a questionable designation. Like Campbell, initial reports indicated that Henderson might've suffered a multi-week injury in Week 5. However, Henderson surprised even himself by bouncing back quickly from a high-ankle sprain and practicing in a limited capacity this week. Based on the fact that the team didn't elevate a running back, it's a good sign that Henderson will play.
Lastly, the Patriots elevated Davison for the second consecutive week after he played on five different special teams units (19 snaps) and got some mop-up snaps at corner in last week's blowout win. Davison's elevation comes with two corners, starter Carlton Davis III (neck) and rookie Karon Prunty (hamstring), already ruled out while rookie CB Channing Canada (hamstring) is officially questionable. Top corner Christian Gonzalez is set to return this week, but Davison provides special teams and cornerback depth.
After activating him on Saturday, Brown takes the open spot on the Patriots 53-man roster, which is now full, while Davison now counts toward the game-day roster limit. With two players already ruled out (Davis, Prunty), the Patriots will need to declare four more players as inactive pre-game on Sunday.
The Patriots host the Jets in a divisional matchup at Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
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