Mike Vrabel opened the door Monday, and Phil Perry didn’t close it on Tuesday.
Vrabel said there is "a chance" A.J. Brown could be back for New England’s Week 6 home matchup with the rival New York Jets on Oct.
- A day later, Perry of NBC Sports Boston said on 98.5 The Sports Hub that Brown returning for that game is a "real possibility."
"I think it’s a real possibility," Perry said about Brown playing against the Jets. "He’s been trending in the right direction.
The routine has seemingly changed a little bit with him, where he’s around us a little bit more when we’re there. I had a chance to talk to him last week, and he’s in very good spirits.
And I think he’s feeling optimistic. But let's see."
Brown has been out since suffering a high ankle sprain in New England’s 13-10 season-opening loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9.
Drake Maye has played most of the season without the Patriots’ top offseason acquisition, and the offense stumbled for stretches after that injury. But New England is now riding back-to-back wins and is coming off a 45-17 home win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
There’s still a reason the Jets game might not be the return spot.
After New England plays the Jets, it turns around quickly for a "Thursday Night Football" trip to Chicago to face the Bears at Soldier Field on Oct. 22. Perry pointed to that short week as a factor the Patriots have to weigh.
"Because of that turnaround," Perry said, "I'm curious as to how they play it. On the one hand, you want to get [Brown] back out there.
I think part of the reason they were so choppy in their start to the season was, 'We lost this major piece of what we were gonna try to do.' And it had a trickle-down effect on the rest of the receivers."
Perry added that Brown "probably is gonna want to play" against the Jets. Still, the schedule could give New England another way to think about it, since the Patriots wouldn’t play again until Nov. 1 at the Miami Dolphins after the Bears game.
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