New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown was placed on IR after his short cameo in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks after joining the reigning AFC champions this offseason.

The New England Patriots are placing wide receiver Brown on injured reserve due to his high ankle sprain, sidelining him for at least four games. 

Brown left the game in the third quarter after a pass from quarterback Drake Maye in tight coverage. Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett contested the pass where his right knee appeared to land on Brown’s ankle. After the play, Brown grabbed for the back of his right leg as he slowly walked to the sideline and entered the medical tent.

Brown would walk to the locker room after an extended period in the medical tent.  Brown is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain, sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.  

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel on Thursday wouldn’t confirm whether Brown has a high ankle sprain but said the team was running more tests on his injury.

“I don’t know if he’ll be available going forward here for the next week, but we’ll see,” Vrabel said. “I know he’ll do everything that he can to get back as quickly as possible, and once we get the reports, then we’ll figure out what the treatment plan is.” 

Brown wasn’t put on IR until Friday, after X-rays revealed that there were no fractures.

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels appeared on sports radio WEEI on Thursday talking about Brown’s injury and how the team will overcome this hurdle.

“Any injury that you get at this time of the season, you kind of approach it with an all-hands-on-deck approach,”  “We got a lot of different skill guys that can do a lot of different things. There isn’t one person on the roster that can replace anybody like A.J. in the middle of a game or a stretch of a season. So we’ll band together and figure out what we can do well and then try to get guys in positions to play to their strengths.” 

Brown joined the Patriots and reunited with Vrabel after the Patriots sent a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles.

During his first game as a Patriot, Brown played a role in the Patriots’ first touchdown drive, where he drew a defensive pass interference penalty after an underthrown deep ball from Maye.

Brown will miss at least 4 games and is expected to be on the sidelines for 3-6 weeks. The Patriots face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home for their Week 2 game.

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys made a rare inter-division trade, with the Eagles sending picks 23, 114, and 137 to the Cowboys for pick 20 and a 2027 seventh-round pick. The Eagles went on to select USC wide receiver Makai Lemon with the 20th pick, followed by the Cowboys drafting UCF edge rusher Malachi Lawrence with the 23rd pick.

With the addition of Lemon, this could be a telltale sign that Eagles veteran wide receiver A.J. Brown is headed to the New England Patriots after June 1.

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, Brown is likely to be traded to the Patriots as soon as June 1 arrives, when his $40 million contract gets split in half.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman had this to say about Brown and his status with the Eagles: “Again, A.J. is a member of the Eagles. We don’t have any trades that have been made or that are done.” 

“And I think for us, we’re taking this one day at a time. We’re going to look to improve the team tomorrow, and we’ll continue to address anything that we have to with our roster, not only through this draft weekend but we’ll continue to look for ways to improve the team throughout the offseason and as we get into training camp.”

For Lemon, he did not expect to be drafted by the Eagles, as he was on the phone with the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, Omar Khan, before he got a call from the Eagles telling him that they had traded up for him.

The Eagles didn’t expect Lemon to still be available around pick 20, but they saw that his name was still on the board, and they took their opportunity to give quarterback Jalen Hurts a dynamic playmaker.

Lemon had a standout season for USC, posting 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns and being named an All-American.

The USC receiver will be joining a wide receiver room that will include DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks and Marquise Brown.

The latest update on the A.J. Brown saga has made things a little clearer as to where the Philadelphia Eagles‘ star wide receiver will be playing next year.

According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the Los Angeles Rams are no longer interested in trading for Brown, leaving the New England Patriots as the lone suitor. It was once a competitive market for Brown, but considering the price, contract and age, many teams do not want to give up the draft capital required to trade for him.

Momentum for a Brown trade started heating up last week, when his market was at its highest, but now it has gotten a lot quieter. It is now more likely than ever that Brown will remain an Eagle.

According to an insider, Dianna Russini, Brown will not be moved at this time, and a potential date to target is June 1, when he could be dealt. This makes things financially easier for the Eagles from a cap space standpoint, but it reduces their leverage in a trade.

It is unknown when a conclusion to this saga will come, but for now, Brown remains in Philadelphia with no trade imminent.

The Philadelphia Eagles made a shocking acquisition on Draft night: a wide receiver … from the Tennesee Titans.

The Eagles acquired star receiver A.J. Brown, 24, who was in the final year of his rookie contract in Nashville, by trading out of their 18th and 101st overall picks. Brown’s four-year deal is good for $100 million with $57 million guaranteed. His new contract makes him the fourth-highest paid receiver in the league averaging $25 million per year, coming in after Tyreek Hill ($30M), Davante Adams ($28M) and DeAndre Hopkins ($27.25M).

Brown has emerged as one of the NFL’s most promising young talents. He was drafted by the Titans in the second round of the 2019 Draft and has totaled 2,995 receiving yards and 24 touchdowns over the past three seasons.

The Titians used the 18th pick to select Brown’s potential replacement, Treylon Burks out of Arkansas and will use the 101st pick to draft another player in the third round on Friday night.

The Tennessee Titans will be entering the season as a massive playoff contender in the AFC. The Titans are looking to have a deeper playoff run than last year. However, Tennessee’s offense will look very different from last year’s unit. Former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith left to become head coach of the Falcons. This is a significant loss because Smith vastly improved the offense. However, the Titans recently acquired stud wide receiver Julio Jones in a trade, making this team’s offensive firepower scary good.

Todd Downing was promoted to offensive coordinator and will become Smith’s successor. He will get the opportunity to work with quarterback Ryan Tannehill, last year’s leading rusher Derrick Henry, as well as two All-Pro wide receivers in Jone and AJ Brown. So the big question is how Downing will do as the team’s new offensive coordinator.

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Tennessee Titans Schedule:

• Week 1: Sun 09/12 vs Arizona Cardinals
• Week 2: Sunday 09/19 at Seattle Seahawks
• Week 3: Sun 09/26 vs Indianapolis Colts
• Week 4: Sun 10/03 at New York Jets
• Week 5: Sun 10/10 at Jacksonville Jaguars
• Week 6: Mon 10/18 vs Buffalo Bills
• Week 7: Sun 10/24 vs Kansas City Chiefs
• Week 8: Sun 10/31 at Indianapolis Colts
• Week 9: Sun 11/07 vs Los Angeles Rams
• Week 10: Sun 11/14 vs New Orleans Saints
• Week 11: Sun 11/21 vs Houston Texans
• Week 12: Sun 11/28 at New England Patriots
• Week 13: BYE
• Week 14: Sun 12/12 vs Jacksonville Jaguars
• Week 15: Sun 12/19 at Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 16: Thu 12/23 vs San Francisco 49ers
• Week 17: Sun 01/02 vs Miami Dolphins
• Week 18: Sun 01/09 at Houston Texans

AFC South: The Titans are going to be battling the Colts for supremacy in the division. Last season, the Titans won the division and split their games against Indianapolis. After acquiring Jones, Tennessee is probably the favorite over Indianapolis, but either team could easily win the division. No matter what, Tennessee will finish either first or second in the division.

Matchups: The Titans will have a tough first half of the season. The team will have exciting games against the Bills, Colts, Chiefs, Seahawks, Steelers and Rams.

Overall: The Titans will have a winning season and be a force not to take lightly come postseason time. This team is built to win now. Tennessee could very well make a run at the Super Bowl.

Prediction: The Titans will finish with a 12-5 record, good for first place in the division.

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In a massive move, the Atlanta Falcons will be trading Julio Jones to the Tennessee Titans. Jones has spent his entire career with the Falcons since entering the NFL after his standout collegiate career at the University of Alabama. The Titans were considered a likely destination as Jones had been seen training with star Titans running back Derrick Henry. NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport provided details on the move.

“Sources: The Falcons are trading All-Pro WR Julio Jones to the Titans in exchange for at least a 2nd round pick. A blockbuster for Tennesee, who now gets the coveted big-play threat. And Atlanta ends up with very nice value.”

On Sunday, the deal was finalized. The Falcons received a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 fourth-round pick in exchange for Jones. Many players from around the league reacted to the massive trade on social media.

This trade is a massive loss to the Falcons and marks the end of an era for the team. On the other hand, the Titans are receiving a playmaker that catapults them into being favorites in the AFC heading into the 2021 season. With other offensive weapons like Henry and AJ Brown, the Titans are poised to be a massive threat in the conference.

Seattle Seahawks DK Metcalf was not prepared for the speed that he encountered in the 100-meter dash at the USA Track and Field Golden Games and Distance Open.

Metcalf finished in ninth place with a running time of 10.36 seconds. Metcalf finished 15th overall out of 17 other participants. The wide receiver participated in the 100-meter dash in hopes of making it to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. However, he did not place high enough to travel to Japan for the Olympics. Instead, the receiver will now be focusing on the upcoming NFL season.

Although he will not be traveling to the Olympics, he is still grateful for the opportunity. “To test my speed up against world-class athletes … just having the opportunity to run against these guys was a blessing,” said Metcalf after Sunday’s race. “They do this for a living. This is very different from football speed.”

Other NFL players tweeted out their support of their fellow football players for trying.

Kansas City Chiefs Pro-Bowler Tyrann Mathieu showed his support and respect by saying he wishes he was as courageous as Metcalf. “Truthfully I wish we had more DK’s in this world… you know that humble confidence, That God Confidence… Each of us can be whatever we want, we should not listen to those who do not encourage to inspire us… More Glory!” he wrote.

Tennessee Titans receiver AJ Brown said, “Don’t hate but instead just witness a young man chase greatness. Any who I’m taking all bets”

Superstar Patrick Mahomes wrote, “10.36 is crazy tho at that size!! Mad respect!