From Newsweek · Keagan Stiefel · · 1m 30s
The Patriots lose A.J. Brown, and the answer is "keep playing"
A.J. Brown lands on IR for at least four games, and New England's receivers shrug and get back to work.
In brief
A.J. Brown lands on IR for at least four games, and New England's receivers shrug and get back to work. Depth is not a backup plan, it is the plan. The Patriots are betting that veterans and young receivers grow into the snaps Brown leaves behind. Originally reported by Newsweek.
Brown lands on IR
A.J. Brown hurt his ankle in the season-opening loss to Seattle and was placed on injured reserve Friday. That means a minimum of four games out, starting with Pittsburgh.
A first-round pick sidelined
New England traded a future first-round pick for Brown. Losing him in week one is not the return the front office had in mind.
Mack Hollins keeps it simple
Hollins offered no hand-wringing about the loss. The schedule does not pause for injuries, and he framed another game as the good news.
“Keep playing. I wish life was like that, where you could wait for your guys to come back and be healthy again.”
Hollins already filled in
After Brown went down early in the second quarter, Hollins moved up to the top group and led the team with four catches for 51 yards.
The rest went quiet
Demario Douglas was the only other receiver to catch a pass after the injury. Romeo Doubs had zero catches on three targets, and Kyle Williams was never thrown to.
“One of my jobs as a player is to make this team better, and I'll be better moving forward.”
McDaniels has done this before
The offensive coordinator built his name scheming around roster holes, and this is far from his hardest one. Doubs, Hollins, Williams and Efton Chism now get the chance to prove the depth holds.
In short
Depth is not a backup plan, it is the plan. The Patriots are betting that veterans and young receivers grow into the snaps Brown leaves behind.
