Opening night of the season between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks was a brutal night for injuries. While Sam Darnold going down with an injury was unfortunate, not many fantasy owners were starting him, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba did just fine without him. It was AJ Brown getting knocked out of the game that made this night miserable for fantasy owners.
Brown went down in the third quarter with what looked to be an ankle injury and was not able to return. The Patriots' passing game fell apart after the injury as Romeo Doubs looked like he should be trying to go play for LSU rather than an NFL team. Now we fantasy owners have to hold our breath and wait for official word on Browns' status moving forward. The good news is that after playing on Wednesday, he does have extra time to heal up before the Pats' Week 2 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 10, 2026Fantasy Impact
WR AJ Brown, New England Patriots
Assuming this is an ankle injury, the severity and location of the sprain will determine how much time, if any, Brown misses. Brown is a fantasy WR1 who will be tough for fantasy owners to replace if he misses any time. When Brown exited the game, he was leading the Patriots in receiving.
