The New England Patriots opened the practice window for wide receiver A.J. Brown on Wednesday, designating him to return from injured reserve, coach Mike Vrabel told reporters.
Brown suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 1 and has been on IR since. Tom Pelissero reported that everything is trending positively for a return soon and that the practice window is the next step.
Ian Rapoport said Brown had been pushing to practice this week, and noted it may be a bit early for a return from that kind of sprain, though the receiver is trying.
How the window works
Opening the window starts a 21-day period in which New England can activate Brown to the 53-man roster at any time. If he is not activated by the end of that period, he reverts to injured reserve for the rest of the season. Brown can practice fully during the window without counting against the active roster.
What comes next
The Patriots face the New York Jets in Week 6. Whether Brown is activated for that game will depend on how his ankle responds to a full week of practice work.
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