FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — It was anything but smooth for A.J. Brown in his return to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The prized offseason acquisition for the defending AFC champions finished with as many catches as dropped passes — three — and even drew a round of boos after a third-quarter drop in New England’s 26-19 win over the New York Jets.
His high ankle sprain might be in the past following a four-game stint on injured reserve, but Brown’s hands were anything but a sure thing in the wide receiver’s first game since New England’s season opener at Seattle.
The 29-year-old Brown was activated on Saturday to the 53-man roster, having missed a minimum number of games after going on IR. He was in the starting lineup Sunday and finished with 27 yards receiving on 10 targets.
“No excuses. Ankle or not, I should make those plays,” said Brown, who spoke briefly while standing at his locker.
Brown’s first appearance on the Gillette Stadium video board came 48 minutes before kickoff. He received a nice applause from the crowd while he was warming up. Brown was also the final member of the Patriots’ offense to be introduced and received an extended ovation as he jumped and waved his arms in response.
By the third quarter, the good cheer from fans evaporated. One of the drops came in the second quarter when Drake Maye targeted him deep. Brown also let an onside kick by the Jets slip through his grasp, though the lapse didn’t come back to haunt his team as tight end Eli Raridon fell on the ball and New England ran out the final 32 seconds of the game.
The postgame tenor didn’t yield much panic from Brown’s coach and teammates. They said they know that a player with six 1,000-yard receiving seasons and three Pro Bowl nods will be fine in the long term.
“I know he wanted to do well for his football team,” said Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who also coached Brown when the receiver broke into the NFL with Tennessee. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t his best effort. He knows that. We have all the confidence in the world in A.J. to be able to finish those plays. He has high expectations for himself, and we have high expectations for him.”
On the sideline, the Patriots refrained from providing words of encouragement to Brown during his first game in a Patriots uniform in front of the home crowd.
“He’s been in the league a long time. He knows how to deal with things,” Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. “He’s been out for a while, so it’s different when you get out there and catch the ball when everyone is flying around. Everyone in the locker room and in this building, we have the utmost confidence in him.”
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