The Patriots are staring at a real problem, and it showed up fast once A.J. Brown went down in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9.
Brown left in the third quarter with a high-ankle sprain, and New England’s offense never looked the same. The Patriots were up 10-0 at halftime, but Seattle answered with 13 unanswered points and walked away with the game. Drake Maye’s night told the story too: he opened by going 11 of 15 for 79 yards and a touchdown, then after Brown’s injury he completed 12 of his next 18 passes for 99 yards and threw three costly fourth-quarter interceptions.
Brown is now on short-term injured reserve, which keeps him out at least four games. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport expects him to miss about six weeks, which would point to a Nov. 1 return against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
Until then, New England has to piece things together.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels made the approach clear on Saturday, saying on WEEI, “Any injury that you get at this point in the offseason, you kind of approach it with an all-hands-on-deck approach,” offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said on Saturday (via WEEI). “We’ve got a lot of different skill guys who can do a lot of different things.
“There isn’t one person on our roster who can replace anybody like A.J. Brown in the middle of a game or for a stretch of the season. We’ll band together, we’ll figure out what we can do well and try to get the guys in positions to play to their strengths.”
That means the burden falls on a few different players, starting with who’s lining up outside.
Romeo Doubs had a rough first game in New England, finishing Week 1 without a catch on three targets. His biggest chance came early in the fourth quarter when Maye rolled right on 2nd-and-14 from the Patriots’ 22-yard line and found Doubs open for a first down.
Doubs turned his head too soon and dropped it, and one play later Maye threw his second turnover of the day. Seattle then used that mistake to take the lead with a field goal.
Mike Vrabel didn’t make the drop into a bigger issue. “He dropped a pass.
You know what I mean? Everybody drops a pass,” he said Monday.
“Everybody misses a tackle. You talk to him the same way you always talk to him.
Figure out a way to make a play to help us win, and he did a lot of great things during camp, just like everybody did. And so, I know he’s excited to get back out there, get to work and to find a way to help us win.”
Doubs had his own slow start in camp before finding a better groove once his role shifted. Working the sideline and taking more 50/50 balls helped him start stacking better days.
Now the Patriots may need more from him than that. With Brown out, Doubs could be asked to work the middle of the field and handle more short and intermediate routes, even though he has already shown he can be a dependable jump-ball target and a red-zone threat.
In 2022, his second season with Green Bay, he caught seven red zone touchdowns, good for fourth in the NFL.
Kyle Williams is another player who could be pushed into a bigger role. The second-year receiver has already flashed deep-ball ability with Maye, connecting on two deep-shot scores in 2025, though their chemistry has also come with plenty of miscommunication. He still had a strong preseason in that role, catching four passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns.
Vrabel said Monday that Williams could see more work. “Sure.
I mean, we want to get Kyle involved,” Vrabel said. “I’m hopeful that Kyle can find a role for us and find a way to help us, using his speed and catch-and-run opportunities like we saw last year at times, or some shot-type plays.
The Seahawks made it tough to get downfield last week, which pushed New England into the short passing game. Maye handled that well early before he “lost patience” and started forcing deeper throws. Even so, the Patriots still need someone who can turn a routine snap into a touchdown, especially if the short game is going to open up later.
TreVeyon Henderson could help change that picture when he returns. He hurt his ankle in practice on Aug. 24 and sat out the opener, but he was a full participant in practice this week and said Thursday that he’s “ready to go.”
Like Williams, Henderson brings explosion. In his rookie season in 2025, he forced 30 missed tackles and had four touchdown runs of over 50 scrimmage yards.
It’s still unclear whether he’ll do more damage between the tackles or earn a bigger third-down role by proving he can handle blitz pickup, but the one thing that never changes is the big-play threat. Give him a touch, and he can take it the distance.
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