Brown's Knee Is the New Problem, and His Ankle Wasn't Solved Yet

A.J. Brown missed practice Thursday with a new knee ailment — this on top of the ankle issue he was already managing after returning from injured reserve. He is listed as questionable for Week 8. That's two lower-body injuries running concurrently on a receiver who has only appeared in three games this season, producing nine catches for 101 yards with no touchdowns.

The timing is rough. New England faces Miami next, and whatever Brown's availability looks like this week, the Patriots cannot count on him being a reliable weekly presence going forward. The depth chart at receiver lists DeMario Douglas, Efton Chism III, and Kyle Williams behind him. That group has been functional. It has not been the kind of receiving corps that changes a game's complexion in a hostile environment, which is exactly where this team keeps struggling.

Drake Maye has 1,784 passing yards and 13 touchdowns through seven games. He has been good enough to keep New England in the wild-card picture. But the offense works best when it has a genuine threat that demands a defense's full attention, and Brown was supposed to be that. Nine catches in three games is not that, and a knee layered onto an ankle suggests the path to him becoming that this season is narrower than it looked a week ago.