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When is A.J. Brown coming back? Will A.J. Brown play again this season? Read about A.J. Brown's return date and injury updates for 2026.
New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown was one of the biggest offseason acquisitions for his team, but he was forced to leave the season opener with an ankle injury. The Patriots' offense struggled early in the year, but they've found a great rhythm in the last two weeks to beat the Bills and Raiders, and they could be getting their star receiver back soon as well.
After the injury, Brown was placed in the IR but is eligible to return in Week 6, when the Patriots host the Jets on Sunday afternoon.
When is Brown coming back? Will he miss most of the season? Let's dive in!
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A.J. Brown Injury Update for Fantasy Football
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Brown could come back as soon as this week, the first week he is eligible. The injury was considered a Grade 2 high ankle sprain, which is a significant injury.
Brown caught three of his four targets for 26 yards in Week 1, but a defender landed on his leg in the third quarter while he was trying to make a catch on a low pass against the Seahawks. He went immediately to the medical tent and was not able to return to the game.
X-rays were negative on Brown's ankle, and the team opted to place him on IR after an MRI. The initial reports were that the injury would require four to six weeks of recovery, but after further evaluation, many reports said the timeline shifted to six to eight weeks due to the severity of the sprain.
Even though Brown is only at the four-week mark, head coach Mike Vrabel said there's a chance he'll return to practice this week. It's not a lock he'll be back for this week's Jets game, but it does seem to be within the realm of possibility. If he does need more time to recover, he could instead return in Week 7 in Chicago (on Thursday Night Football) or in Week 8 on the road in Miami.
A.J. Brown Could Return to Action in Week 6 https://t.co/YlW5zvEiYm
— RotoBaller (@RotoBaller) October 12, 2026
A.J. Brown Fantasy Football Outlook
When he does return, Brown is expected to be the top target in the Patriots' passing game. Drake Maye had some rough turnovers early in the year while going 1-2 in the first three games, but he has caught fire in the last two games, totaling 643 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns in wins over the Bills and Raiders.
Maye has worked very effectively in those two games with Romeo Doubs, Efton Chism III, DeMario Douglas, Hunter Henry, and Kyle Williams. Mack Hollins (calf) was also involved before landing on the IR. All of those options will be strong secondary options behind Brown when the star is ready to return.
The Patriots have spread the ball around effectively to take advantage of different matchups, but he'll definitely be one of the top options when he's ready to return. When he's activated, he can be slotted back in as a starter in most formats, especially with Maye putting up such strong numbers.
When he returns, he'll take a lot of the fantasy value away from the other Patriots' pass-catchers, but the impressive showings in his absence will give Maye more options to work with as the season goes on.
Brown has a chance of returning in Week 6, so keep a close eye on the Patriots' practice reports this week.
Who Should I Start Tool
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Week 6 Player Decisions. Today's focus is on specific players: A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Rhamondre Stevenson, DeMario Douglas, Hunter Henry. These are some of the most common searches for fantasy football lineups in Week 6.
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player name. In the second box, search for the second player name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed that our 'Who Should I Start?' tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats, projections, strength of schedule, player news, and enhanced search results with data to compare with a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Week 6 Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Week 6 (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Week 1 Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Start tool for Week 6 for A.J. Brown, Romeo Doubs, Rhamondre Stevenson, DeMario Douglas, Hunter Henry:
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