A.J. Brown believed to have suffered high-ankle sprain in loss to Seahawks: Source

SEATTLE — The New England Patriots will probably be without star wide receiver A.J. Brown for at least one game and potentially several more.

According to a team source, Brown is believed to have suffered a right high-ankle sprain, an injury that typically sidelines NFL players for two to six weeks. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the situation.

Brown is scheduled to undergo additional medical testing Thursday to determine the severity of his injury and establish a timeline for his return. He suffered the injury while being tackled in the third quarter of his debut for the Patriots on Wednesday night, a 13-10 loss to the Seahawks in Seattle.

The looming question for the Patriots may become whether to place Brown on injured reserve. If they do, it would free up a roster spot but would mean Brown has to sit out at least four games.

What makes matters more difficult for New England is that the team traded wide receiver Kayshon Boutte two weeks ago, in part because his role had diminished behind Brown and free-agent signing Romeo Doubs.

Now with Brown probably out for at least a week, the Patriots will need a few players to step up. For starters, Doubs has to be better than he was in his Patriots debut, when he dropped a wide-open pass in the fourth quarter that would have gone for a big first down. He finished with no catches on three targets.

New England will also need second-year receiver Kyle Williams to do more. The former third-round pick struggled as a rookie and needs to improve his route running, but he excels at running straight go balls downfield and is good at releasing off the line of scrimmage.

It’s a tough way for Brown’s Patriots tenure to begin. The team gave up a first-round pick to acquire him from the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason with the hope that he would elevate the offense.

Now the Patriots will have to pick up the pieces from a dud in the opener without their best skill-position player — for at least a little while.