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Patriots fans have flipped from excitement to anxiety surrounding A.J. Brown.
Brown’s thus-far injury-riddled stint with the Patriots has even made WEEI host Chris Curtis doubt that Brown will be on the field at all again this year.
“I don’t believe we will see him the rest of the season,” Curtis said, to shock from fellow “Greg Hill Show” hosts.
The Super Bowl champ is currently listed on New England’s injury report with both ankle and knee injuries, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s update on the situation says the real concern lies with his knee.
“It flared up…I know it says ankle and knee, but it’s the knee,” Schefter said. “The knee held him out last week, and the knee is threatening to hold him out this week. It’s a knee that I think raises some concerns as to how long he’s gonna keep playing here in New England, and producing at a high level.”
It’s not the first anyone’s heard about potential knee issues with Brown.
It was a topic before he was traded to the Patriots. Other teams who were believed to have shown interest during the offseason, were scared off by the knee issues including the Rams.
“Let’s go back to the offseason, when Philadelphia was shopping A.J. Brown and they were talking to teams,” Schefter said. “One of the reasons that I believe there wasn’t more interest was there were some teams that had some questions about his knee.
“In fact, when there were advanced discussions for a trade with the Los Angeles Rams that was at one point close to being completed…I think the Rams had some concerns about his knee. The concerns that other teams have had have now manifested themselves in New England this season.”
The three-time Pro Bowler played a mere 30 snaps in his Patriots debut in Week 1 before a high ankle sprain sidelined him for four games.
Heading into Week 9, Brown has appeared in only three games, catching nine passes for 101 yards and no touchdowns.
Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf addressed concerns about Brown’s knee earlier this year.
“It’s a factor, but we examined him,” Wolf said in June. “He’s got a knee that has some wear and tear that we were aware of. Our training staff and medical staff signed off on it.”
