Long before the New England Patriots acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles via a transaction that became official on Monday, reports suggested that the Patriots and other teams were concerned about his history of knee problems.
While speaking with media members on Tuesday, Brown was asked about the state of his knee.
A.J. Brown insists he has “no injury” in his knee
“No injury. There’s nothing to worry about,” Brown responded, per Karen Guregian of MassLive. “I think this whole little … you gotta understand where I came from, so any conversation about anything is going to come up.”
Most recently, Brown missed a game during what became his final season with the Eagles due to a reported hamstring injury. That said, alleged “medical concerns” regarding his knee reportedly resulted in the Los Angeles Rams electing not to match the asking price that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman placed on Brown this offseason.
In the end, Brown cost the Patriots a 2028 first-round draft pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
“Maybe in four years I’ve missed one game from a shot to the knee,” Brown added during his comments. “So, that’s nothing to worry about. I’m ready to go.”
Mike Vrabel responds to concerns about A.J. Brown’s health
Brown’s supposed knee problems go back to when he had current Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel as a head coach with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 through the 2021 season. Understandably, Vrabel was asked on Tuesday if having a history with Brown made the Patriots feel more comfortable about completing this transaction.
“There’s going to be a different plan for every single guy,” Vrabel said about possibly having to “manage” Brown’s workload, per the Patriots’ website. “And again, I think that looking at the body of work and the availability that he’s been able to have, and whether we have to manage him or anybody else. It’s a long season. There will be things that we’ll have to deal with, and we’ll try to do that accordingly. But just based on looking at his availability in the games that he’s been able to play in and be there for his team, I think that hopefully leads to future availability.”
Clearly, nothing that Vrabel and Co. learned about Brown’s knee during the team physical spooked the Patriots before the trade was announced to the world on Monday. However, what was referred to during Tuesday’s news conferences as a “degenerative knee condition” will once again become a talking point if Brown misses even one game due to his knee this coming season.
