The New England Patriots lost wide receiver AJ Brown in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. He suffered an ankle injury during that contest that has kept him off the field since. Recently, the Patriots seemingly got good news regarding Brown's status.

New England's star wide receiver returned to practice this week. He has worked in a limited capacity the entire week. This gave fans some hope that he may take the field for this week's game. However, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport threw a bit of cold water on this before Week 6.

“There is a chance, but it is for sure not guaranteed,” Rapoport said Friday when asked about Brown's chances of playing this week. “My understanding going into this was that this is a six-week injury for AJ Brown. He is not there yet. It is about four weeks, a little more when he came back to practice.”

The Patriots did struggle in the early going of the season. They lost to the Seahawks in Week 1 before getting blown out by the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3. But New England has seemingly figured some things out. They have won two straight and are coming off a dominant win over the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5.

Article Continues Below

There is no need to rush Brown back before he is healthy. This New England offense has started showing promise. Brown's return will certainly help, but New England has time to allow him to get fully healthy.

The Patriots are in action on Sunday when they host the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium.