RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesPatriots Star A.J. Brown Suffers Painful Injury at Practice — Then Refuses to Leave the Field originally appeared on NESN .
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While A.J. Brown is gearing up for his first season as a member of the New England Patriots , not even a brief injury scare could ruin his bright outlook on his 2026 campaign.
During Monday's practice, Brown spoke with NFL insiders Mike Garafolo and Brian Baldinger and shared his thoughts about what he had been up to on his new team. Baldinger shared that play at practice today was physical, to the point Brown couldn't avoid an injury during the opening stages of training camp.
Brown has been cited for his attitude in the past, but he shared that he stayed motivated to continue pushing through practice today despite the incident.
Here's the rundown on what happened to Brown and whether or not New England's star will miss time.
What happened to A.J. Brown at Patriots practice?
After Monday's indoor practice in Foxborough, Brown sat down to speak with Mike Garafolo and Brian Baldinger about his time in New England so far. During the sit-down, Baldinger outlined an instance during practice in which Brown fell victim to an injury. The Patriot came away from a play involving young cornerback Christian Gonzalez with a dislocated thumb.
Here is the full interview, with the trio discussing the matter at around 2:20 of the following video:
Not even a dislocated thumb can wipe the smile off A.J. Brown’s face these days. The #Patriots WR with @BaldyNFL and me on Inside Training Camp on @nflnetwork to talk Mike Vrabel, Josh McDaniels, why a finger out of place won’t end his day + more. pic.twitter.com/tiCFYjpxdI
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 3, 2026 "I mean, it's so physical out there. You had your thumb dislocated against Gonzalez there," Baldinger said. "And then you just went and taped it up, put the glove back on, went out and did your thing."
"It was tough. I tried to get back into that flow state zone really quickly," said Brown. "Because obviously the game is what it is, and you're going to get bumps and bruises, and you've got to keep going."
"I know it's practice, but I'm not coming out of practice if a thumb is out of place. You keep going."
The 29-year-old shared that he dislocated the same thumb during his time at Ole Miss. However, he did not miss any additional games throughout the season, despite the injury happening early in the campaign.
Will A.J. Brown miss time after dislocating his thumb?
No, Brown is not expected to miss any time after his mishap in practice today. As a matter of fact, the star reportedly did not miss much time during today's practice with the injury.
Brown looks to have a large role in New England's offense this season, and that belief should remain unchanged.
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