New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown finally returned to the field after suffering an ankle injury in Week 1, and he’s praising God for the comeback.
“Football is what I do. It’s not who I am,” the athlete told reporters after returning to practice last week. “You know, I’m a God-fearing man, and I’m a husband, I’m a family man.”
According to Bleacher Report, Brown suffered a high ankle sprain during the team’s season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. On an incomplete pass from quarterback Drake Maye in the third quarter, Seattle cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett’s knee hit Brown’s ankle. An MRI confirmed the sprain, and the Patriots placed Brown on injured reserve, which meant at least four games out.
“In that moment, yeah, it sucked,” Brown recalled during last week’s press conference. “I told God on the ground, ‘God, I trust you.’ And I instantly started thinking about my wife, to try to support her because I know that was important to her. That’s just the human side of me that a lot of people don’t really get to see, but here we are now, and we are lacing them back up and going to try to do it again.”
Brown returned during the Patriots game against the New York Jets on Sunday, where he dropped a career-high three passes, but luckily, his team still got the win.
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“My timing was off. I’m much better than what I put on display today. There’s no excuses. I’ll be better,” Brown told the media after the game. “I expect myself to make each one of those plays. I’m more than capable of making those catches.”
When asked if the injury impacted the way he played, he didn’t make any excuses.
“Regardless of whether I was sitting down or I’ve been going, I expect myself to make each one of those plays,” Brown emphasized. “I have trust in my hands. I’ll continue my process and continue daily catching and just keep going. You can’t care about that and keep going.”
Faith is core to who Brown is, no matter what happens on the field.
“I had plans and God had other plans,” Brown told Sports Spectrum in 2023 ahead of his Super Bowl game with the Philadelphia Eagles. “I try not to lean on my own understanding. I read the Bible a lot because that’s how I fight my problems. I’m not trying to stand up here and be a perfect guy because I’m not; nobody is. But I just lean heavily on my faith and try to let Him direct my paths.”
Regardless of how he plays, Brown’s identity is not in football, but in God. The Patriots face off against the Chicago Bears on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. EDT.
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