The New England Patriots are placing wide receiver A.J. Brown on injured reserve due to a high ankle sprain, sidelining him for at least four games, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. An MRI confirmed the injury, which occurred during Wednesday's season-opening loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Brown will miss the Sept. 20 home opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers and road games against the Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 27) and Buffalo Bills (Oct. 4), plus at least one more. He had quickly become quarterback Drake Maye's top target.

Veteran Mack Hollins took over Brown's role, and the Patriots will need more from Romeo Doubs, who had a costly drop in his debut. De Mario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism III are also on the depth chart.

"Any injury that you get at this time of the season, you kind of approach it with an all-hands-on-deck approach," offensive coordinator Josh Mc Daniels said. The Patriots traded a 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fifth-round pick to acquire Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles on June 1.