Josh McDaniels recently had a surprising reaction to learning about the star wide receiver A.J. Brown being put on IR. Brown suffered an ankle injury during the New England Patriots’ 13-10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the season opener.

Patriots offensive coordinator McDaniels learned about the news during his recent conversation with WEEI’s Jones and Keefe show.

“That’s interesting, we weren’t in today so I haven’t quite heard all that stuff,” McDaniels said. “Any injury that you get at this point in time of the season, you approach it with an all-hands on deck approach.”

Patriots OC Josh McDaniels had no clue AJ Brown was placed on IR two days after it happened…

I’ll also mention this video has been scrubbed on all WEEI platforms.

YIKES. pic.twitter.com/gVQmbRgiHP

— Drake Silver (@Drake_Silvah) September 14, 2026

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“We’ve got a lot of different skill guys who can do a lot of different things. There isn’t one person on our roster that can replace anybody like A.J. in the middle of the game or for a stretch of the season. So, we’ll band together and figure out what we can do well and try to get the guys in their places of strength.”

Also, according to ESPN's NFL insider Adam Schefter, Brown is expected to miss at least four games.

“Sources: Patriots are placing wide receiver AJ Brown on injured reserve due to his high ankle sprain, sidelining him for a minimum of four games,” he reported.

As for the Patriots, the injury came at the worst possible time, when the team was high on hopes after the pre-season, with fully rested starters. While Brown will stay away from any active practice during his IR status, he could make a return when the Patriots play the New York Jets on October 18, after being declared healthy.