FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Brown injury fallout: The Patriots didn't just lose the first game of the season. They also lost No. 1 receiver, A.J. Brown, for at least four weeks due to a right high ankle sprain. Brown was placed on injured reserve Friday.
Making matters worse, the Patriots are the only team that plays a 2025 playoff team in each of the first four weeks of this season (at Seahawks, vs. Steelers, at Jaguars and at Bills). After that, New England is tied for the eighth-easiest schedule the rest of the way, according to ESPN Research.
So where do they go from here?
"Keep playing," veteran receiver Mack Hollins said matter-of-factly. "I wish life was like that, where you could wait for your guys to come back and be healthy again. It's NFL football."
There is no one-for-one replacement for Brown, who had caught more passes from quarterback Drake Maye than anyone in training camp and remains one of the top wide receivers in the NFL (No. 9 in ESPN's offseason execs ranking). There's a reason the Patriots were willing to trade a 2028 first-round pick to acquire him in June. But one of the staples of coordinator Josh McDaniels' offense over the past two-plus decades is reshaping the attack when injuries hit and playing to the strengths of who is available.
It was Hollins who mostly took over Brown's role in the second half Wednesday. Hollins (6-foot-4, 221 pounds) is most similar to Brown (6-1, 226 pounds) from a physical measureables standpoint. Maye had developed a quick rapport with Brown on slants, which is the type of play the big-bodied Hollins also excels on.
Brown's absence likely means quick-cutting second-year receiver Efton Chism III -- who projects as a future top slot option with flexibility to play outside -- now goes from inactive to the 48-man game-day roster. And speedy Kyle Williams, the 2025 third-round pick, could see his playing time rise after totaling just 12 snaps and finishing without a catch in the opener.
The Patriots will obviously need more from Romeo Doubs, too.
Signed to a four-year, $68 million contract in March, the former Green Bay Packer had a rocky debut with a costly drop and was the target downfield on Maye's first interception. He played 40 snaps and didn't have a catch. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Doubs' minus-1.1 receptions above expected in Week 1 was his lowest since 2023 Week 8 (vs. the Vikings).
"One of my jobs as a player is to make this team better, and I'll be better moving forward," Doubs said.
Part of the reason there's added pressure on Doubs to do so is that his arrival greased the skids for receiver Kayshon Boutte requesting a trade, which ultimately landed him in Houston for a late-round pick and reserve safety Jaylen Reed. The Patriots had developed Boutte in their system, he had an established rapport with Maye, and a case could be made he was one of their best receivers coming out of training camp after making countless plays down the field in contested-catch situations.
The Patriots didn't have to trade Boutte, who would have been an ideal safety net at this moment, but they essentially told him he wasn't part of their long-term plans this offseason by signing Doubs and trading for Brown.
Those decisions, coupled with moving on from veteran Stefon Diggs -- who led the team in receptions, had a remarkable catch rate and was an emotional spark plug on game days -- were supposed to supercharge the offense. Now they reshuffle the receiver cards without their ace in Brown while looking ahead to the home opener Sunday, Sept. 20 against the Pittsburgh Steelers (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
"The fortunate thing is we get another week to play a game," Hollins said.
2. Schooler update: Patriots special teams captain Brenden Schooler is opening the year on the non-football injury list because of a back ailment, according to sources.
There was a possibility Schooler could have opened the year on the roster, according to a source familiar with the situation, but the team played it safe. The expectation, barring an unexpected turn, is for Schooler to return this season.
3. Veteran reinforcements: "Be careful of voluntarily getting older." Those were the words of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells when it came to building rosters, and it's what the 2026 Patriots were balancing in signing 36-year-old center/guard Greg Van Roten (one year, up to $4.5 million on Aug. 18) and 34-year-old defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (one year, up to $6.5 million agreement on Friday) versus their need for quality depth.
Van Roten and Jones should help in 2026, but the Mike Vrabel/Eliot Wolf duo will truly hit its stride when it can turn to developed, cheaper-on-the-cash-and-cap youth to fill those needs.
4. "Silver lining": Vrabel shared that he saw something he liked from rookie outside linebacker Gabe Jacas in the season-opening loss -- a third-quarter tackle in the red zone when the Seahawks had an unbalanced offensive line and attempted to block down on Jacas. Vrabel said Jacas' reaction to cross the offensive tackle's face and chase down the play was his most instinctive play since joining the team in July.
"That was probably the play I was most pleased with and saying, 'Hey, you are out there playing, getting lined up, reacting,'" Vrabel said, adding that Jacas had some things to refine in the special teams phase.
One silver-lining nugget to pass along on "film study"/reporting:
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 11, 2026
Mike Vrabel called this the most instinctive play rookie OLB Gabe Jacas (50) has had since arriving in New England.
Said Vrabel: "The unbalanced play in the red zone. They went with a speed break and a tackle... pic.twitter.com/IYlpO2aI0N
Of his first NFL game, Jacas said: "There's a lot of stuff I can clean up. First sack, first game. Not too bad."
5. McDaniels-Maye convo: Maye's three-interception opener has sparked outside criticism, and how players and coaches manage that was a topic broached to offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who has come under fire as well for what some perceive as a conservative game plan. In an interview on sports radio WEEI, McDaniels shared that he and Maye had their own conversation on the topic Thursday.
"That part comes with the territory, it really does," McDaniels said. "Drake and I had a great conversation about that exact thing, and this is what you sign up for. You aspire professionally to get to a point in your career where you have an opportunity to hopefully make an impact in the game each week ... you do everything within your power to make it go and when it goes, it's fun. And when it doesn't, you have the responsibility of handling the adversity and/or criticism that comes with it."
6. Thompson next? After the Patriots agreed to sign DaQuan Jones on Friday, the question now is whether they'd also take the plunge with linebacker Shaq Thompson (currently on the Bills' practice squad). Jones and Thompson initially visited New England together on Aug. 18. Vested veterans who sign after Week 1 don't have their base salaries guaranteed, which is likely why the Patriots waited to make their move on Jones. Now we'll see if they do the same with the 32-year-old Thompson.
7. Rookie report: Of the 24 new players on the Patriots' 53-man roster, there are 11 rookies. Since 2000, the Patriots have had 10 or more rookies on their opening-day roster eight other times (2000, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2023, 2024 and 2025).
Here is a snapshot of Patriots rookies' contributions in the opener:
Jacas: 19 defensive snaps, 3 tackles, 1 sack, 20 special-teams snaps
OT Caleb Lomu (first round): top backup tackle, prepared to enter game for Morgan Moses at one point but Moses was cleared to return, 2 special teams snaps on field-goal protection unit
TE Eli Raridon (third round): 38 offensive snaps, 1 catch, 2 yards, TD, 4 special teams snaps
CB Karon Prunty (fifth round): Healthy scratch
QB Behren Morton (seventh round): Emergency option
OLB Quintayvious Hutchins (seventh round): 2 special teams snaps (punt return)
TE Tanner Arkin (undrafted): 4 special teams snaps (kickoff return)
CB Channing Canada (undrafted): 11 special teams snaps (punt return, punt coverage)
LB Erick Hunter (undrafted): Healthy scratch
OT Dametrious Crownover (sixth round): Fourth on depth chart; 2 special teams snaps on field-goal protection unit
LB Namdi Obiazor (sixth round): Team-high 3 special teams tackles as core player (20 snaps)
8. Britt, Vildor max pay: Not all practice squad players receive the same salary, and linebacker K.J. Britt and cornerback Kindle Vildor are the Patriots' highest earners at $22,850 per week for a season salary of $411,300. That is the maximum they are allowed to earn. The Patriots have 10 of their 17 players with two or fewer accrued seasons earning $13,750 per week for a season salary of $247,500. But when a player such as running back Lan Larison gets elevated for the opener, his salary for the week spikes from $13,750 to roughly $52,000.
9. Did You Know, Part I: All three of Maye's interceptions in Week 1 came on throws of 15-plus air yards, according to ESPN's tracking. He's the first Patriots QB to have three interceptions on throws of 15-plus air yards in the same game over the past 20 seasons.
10. Did You Know, Part II: There are five offensive linemen in the NFL age 35 or older, and the Patriots have two of them -- Van Roten (36) and starting right tackle Morgan Moses (35). The others are the 49ers' Trent Williams (38), Eagles' Lane Johnson (36) and Rams' David Quessenberry (36).