A.J. Brown: limited Wednesday in return from ankle
THE FACT. A.J. Brown practiced on a limited basis for New England on Wednesday with ankle and knee injuries listed, per the Patriots' official injury report, in the team's first session since its loss to Chicago. NBC Sports' Josh Alper noted it was Brown's first practice work after he missed four games with the ankle problem.
THE VERDICT. Redraft: hold and watch Thursday and Friday. Limited on the first day back from a four-game absence is a normal ramp, not a red flag, but you want a full practice or a clean Friday designation before you start him at Miami. Dynasty: no change. DFS: fade until the designation lands, because a player on a pitch count in his first game back is a bad bet. If he practices up through the week he is a flex play with upside, not a locked-in starter.
Different read on this one. Brown isn't on day one of a ramp, he's two games into the return. He played 76 percent of the snaps in his first game back against the Jets and has 20 targets across three games, and New England took him off the final injury report before Chicago after a full practice. So I'm not waiting on a Friday designation, he's playing. The real question is the drops and a Miami defense that's been stingy to receivers. In DFS I'd rather have him cheap and unowned than fade him.