A.J. Brown's much-ballyhooed debut with the New England Patriots came to an abrupt conclusion Wednesday night.
Brown injured his ankle early in the third quarter and was ruled out of the NFL Kickoff Game, which the Patriots lost to the host Seattle Seahawks, 13-10.
The New England receiver suffered a high ankle sprain an MRI confirmed on Thursday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Brown is expected to miss at least four weeks, according to Rapoport, which is standard with high ankle sprains.
The three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver went for a low throw from Drake Maye with Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett defending and deflecting the ball. Pritchett's knee came down on Brown's right ankle, and the wideout immediately grabbed the ankle.
Brown, who was playing in his first game for the Pats since he was acquired in an offseason trade from the Philadelphia Eagles, was attended to on the field before limping off to the blue tent. He was then accompanied by trainers to the locker room, where he underwent X-rays.
Prior to his exit, Brown had three receptions on four targets for 26 yards -- all of those numbers team highs at the time. His biggest contribution was drawing a massive 34-yard pass interference penalty that put the Pats on the Seahawks' 2-yard line to set up the game's opening score.
Brown, 29, has played in at least 13 games in each of his seven NFL seasons, but he has missed at least two games in each of his last two with Philadelphia.
