AJ Brown Out Six Weeks While Sam Darnold Battles a Literal Pain in the Butt
The NFL injury report delivered a brutal blow to the Patriots with AJ Brown out six weeks, while the Seahawks deal with Sam Darnold's glute injury and the 49ers lose De'Zhaun Stribling for a month.
HotTakes Editorial Team2 min read
Finding live odds…
The NFL injury report is a cruel mistress, but this week it decided to mix devastating roster news with a bit of anatomical comedy. According to Ian Rapoport on NFL GameDay Morning, New England Patriots star receiver AJ Brown is sidelined for about six weeks, while Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is dealing with an actual, literal glute injury.
Yes, the Seahawks signal-caller has a bruised backside. You can go ahead and get the jokes out of your system now. But while Seattle fans are checking to see if they make orthopedic seat cushions for NFL sidelines, the situation in New England is a full-blown crisis.
"Ian Rapoport noted on NFL GameDay Morning that Sam Darnold 'actually has a glute injury.'"
Losing Brown for a month and a half completely rewires the Patriots offense. New England just dropped a 13-10 rock fight to Seattle a few days ago, a game where points were already harder to find than a cheap beer at a stadium. Subtracting their top weapon means oddsmakers are going to aggressively downgrade this passing attack going forward.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are also taking a hit to their receiver room. De'Zhaun Stribling is out for at least a month with a deltoid ligament injury.
The 49ers are coming off a dominant 27-7 blowout over the Los Angeles Rams, so they have a little bit of breathing room to absorb the loss. Still, losing a pass-catcher for four-plus weeks forces the coaching staff to shuffle a deck that was just starting to look perfectly stacked.
For anyone holding futures tickets on these squads, it is time to do some math. The 49ers have the depth to survive a month without Stribling, but the Patriots are going to have to invent entirely new ways to move the football without Brown drawing double coverage every Sunday.
As for Seattle, they just need their quarterback to be able to sit down comfortably during film study. We will see how these depth charts shake out next week, but expect the waiver wire and the betting markets to be in full panic mode until then.
Key stats
Key statsAJ Brown out approximately six weeks
De'Zhaun Stribling out at least a month with a deltoid ligament injury
Seattle Seahawks recently defeated the New England Patriots 13-10
San Francisco 49ers recently defeated the Los Angeles Rams 27-7
What's next
The Patriots will have to completely restructure their passing game over the next month and a half, while the Seahawks monitor Darnold's practice status heading into next week.
