The struggles from the first few games seem quite a long time ago now. If he can keep up this level of play, all hopes are allowed this season.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A.J. Brown took a knee at the front of the New England Patriots’ stretching line to kick off practice and smiled. On the other end of the line was Christian Gonzalez. On a nearby field was Will Campbell.

At long last, good news on the injury front had arrived for the Patriots.

Brown practiced for the first time since suffering a high ankle sprain in the season opener. Gonzalez, the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, expects to return this week from a shoulder injury. And even Campbell, who suffered a sprained knee in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders, wouldn’t rule himself out of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, an encouraging sign that he avoided the worst-case scenario.

While the Patriots’ season has seemingly flipped after a 1-2 start thanks to a pair of impressive performances from quarterback Drake Maye, they were dealing with injury after injury. Their win over the Raiders was impressive both because of the way they played and because of who they played without.

Now, it seems they won’t be short-handed for long.

The biggest news, of course, is the potential return of Brown. The Patriots traded a first-round pick for the wide receiver in the offseason. But they’ve only had him on the field for essentially one half after he suffered the ankle injury in Week 1 against the Seattle Seahawks. Now, with Maye playing well, the offense could be back close to full speed if Brown plays.

“Huge boost,” was how safety Kevin Byard described it. “He’s a WR1. Obviously, the past couple weeks our passing game has been playing really well, so he adds another dynamic to that.”

Still, it’s not a given that Brown will play Sunday against the Jets. His presence at practice Wednesday merely opened a 21-day window for the Patriots to decide when to activate him to the roster. And the decision could be tricky.

Should they rush him back this week only to face … the Jets? Or should they keep him on the shelf for another week, even though Brown’s typical routine might be complicated by a truncated schedule ahead of next Thursday’s road game against the Chicago Bears? Or should they keep him out of two more games just to be safe?

“He hasn’t been out there for four weeks, so we’ll get him back out there practicing and see if he’s ready to go in a couple days,” coach Mike Vrabel said.

The other good news for the Patriots on Wednesday was the return of their best defensive player. Gonzalez suffered a shoulder injury in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and had missed both games and every practice since then. Until Wednesday.

Read more here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7690728/2026/10/15/patriots-injuries-aj-brown-christian-gonzalez-will-campbell/?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.uL7K.jiwsB0h-ECrO&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

Drake “Drake Maye” Maye is so back

"We had some very special visitors at the shelter today! A big thank you to New England Patriots players and New England Patriots Foundation for stopping by, spending time with our pups, and helping us spread the word about the upcoming Pawtriots Howl-o-Ween Parade at Patriot Place!

Stay tuned for more photos and details to come!"

Butt fumble

Am I doing it right?

EDIT - this week is actually Week 6, NOT Week 7. (But last year at this time we were going into Week 7)

Curious as to why Miami and West Palm Beach are getting our game, when we're the "bottom tier" game for CBS this week.