AJ Brown Inactive as Patriots Host Packers

A.J. Brown is sitting again. The New England Patriots listed the wide receiver among their inactives for Sunday’s 4:25 p.m. ET home game against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium, NFL.com’s Week 9 inactives report showed. It is the second straight game he will miss.

Brown is out with an ankle and a knee injury. He added a knee flare-up to a recovering high-ankle sprain, could not finish Wednesday’s practice, and has now sat out the last two games and five practices. He has played in just three of New England’s nine games this season, finishing those appearances with nine catches for 101 yards.

Who Is Left at Receiver

Running back TreVeyon Henderson is also inactive as he continues to recover from an illness, so Drake Maye is missing a skill-position piece on the ground as well as his top imported wideout. The Patriots did get one booster on Saturday: they activated Mack Hollins from injured reserve, and he is officially active for the Packers.

Hollins missed four games after a calf injury in the second half of a Week 4 win over the Bills. Before that absence he was New England’s leading receiver, with 15 catches for 209 yards in the first four weeks. With Hollins back, the Patriots have four healthy wideouts for Sunday: DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, Efton Chism III and Hollins.

Henry Is Active

Tight end Hunter Henry, who was listed as questionable with a foot injury, is officially active. Henry played only eight snaps against Miami last week after hurting the foot on a low catch, sat out the first two practices this week, then returned in a limited session Friday. He is available, even if the foot is still something to watch.

The rest of the inactive list is cornerback Charles Woods (hamstring), offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover and rookie quarterback Behren Morton, the emergency third quarterback. Woods was a late addition after testing the hamstring in pregame warmups.

A Slow Start in New England

Brown’s Patriots tenure has been stop-and-start. He missed four games on injured reserve with the ankle earlier this season, and the ankle has stayed on the report even as the knee flare-up became the reason he could not get through this week’s practices. Two straight scratches leave Maye leaning on Hollins, Douglas, Williams and Chism, plus Henry if the foot holds up.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Mack Hollins receptions against the Packers. He is back as an outside receiver after a four-game calf absence and was New England’s leading wideout before that injury, with 15 catches for 209 yards in the first four weeks. Douglas remains the slot option next to him, and Henry’s activation gives Maye another short-area target if the foot cooperates.