FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown says his status for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets is “still up in the air” after returning to practice this week for the first time since suffering a right high-ankle sprain in the season opener.
“I felt pretty good,” Brown said while noting he was taking a “one step at a time” approach, which included seeing how the ankle responded Thursday in a practice with full shoulder pads that promised to be more physical.
“Obviously it’s going to be a Coach Vrabel decision, to see where I’m at and make the better decision for the long haul, not just for temporarily,” he said.
The Patriots (3-2) have a quick turnaround after Sunday’s game against the Jets (2-3), traveling to face the Chicago Bears on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Brown was a limited participant in practice Wednesday. He said his goal is to add to his workload on a daily basis.
“It felt good just to be back on the grass practicing. Working on the side is a little boring,” he said.
Brown shared a personal story of his reaction to the injury, which occurred in the third quarter of New England’s season-opening loss to the Seahawks in Seattle. As he lay on the field, he said he was thinking about how he would not be able to attend his wife Kelsey’s graduation from nursing school that weekend in New Jersey.
He said he appreciated coach Mike Vrabel excusing him from mandatory rehabilitation to attend.
Brown also said he was motivated in his rehab by his 4-year-old son Deuce, who wanted to play tag with him.
“Besides the [athletic] training staff, who did a really good job, what motivated me to get back was chasing my son again,” Brown said. “Because as soon as I got home, he wanted me to run around and play. I was like, ‘I can’t chase you right now.’ That kind of motivated me.
“Then it got to the point where I started doing a little more and we started playing tag and that’s when I knew I was getting back into it — making him miss.”
