A.J. Brown’s much-anticipated Patriots debut takes scary turn

SEATTLE, Washington — Drake Maye finally had a No. 1 wide receiver on the field alongside him… until he didn’t.

The New England Patriots made an (expected) splash, trading for A.J. Brown at the start of June, and the receiver showed what he is capable of multiple times throughout the summer. After not taking part in any of the preseason games, Wednesday night was the first time Maye and Brown got the opportunity to play together.

And things were going well as the two were connecting. But in the third quarter, Maye sent a ball towards Brown that was ultimately broken up, but as that happened, the receiver suffered an ankle injury. He remained down on the ground, with trainers rushing over to him. Brown was able to walk off the field, but had an obvious limp. He went to the bench and then into the blue medical tent, before departing for the locker room. And on top of that, he was ruled as questionable to return before eventually being ruled out.

After the game, head coach Mike Vrabel was asked if he had any update regarding the team’s top receiver.

“I don’t have any update yet,” he simply said. “Wasn’t able to return, obviously.”

At the same time as the press conferences were going on, the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan reported that Brown was spotted in the locker room with a boot on his right foot.

His teammate, safety Kevin Byard said that he did see Brown after the game.

“I briefly saw him in the training room,” Byard told reporters. “He was in good spirits so that was good to see.”

As for Maye and Christian Gonzalez, both said that they had not yet seen the receiver at the time they came to speak with reporters.

“No I didn’t see AJ. Prayers for him,” the cornerback stated. “He’s going to do his rehab and do what he needs to do, but we’ve got a room full of guys.”

“I haven’t gotten a chance to see him,” Maye added. “I know he’s dealing with what he’s dealing with, and I think for A.J., he’s going to fight hard to get back whatever it is, and I know he’s going to want to get back out there quick. He’s competitive, and he’s going to help this football team a lot this year. So looking forward to getting to see him and see how he’s doing.”

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: A.J. Brown’s much-anticipated Patriots debut takes scary turn