While wide receiver A.J. Brown might be making the trip to Germany this week alongside the rest of the New England Patriots, another member of the team’s starting lineup will not be available for the upcoming game against the Detroit Lions.
Guard Ben Brown, who exited Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers with a knee injury, will be out this week. Head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed his status during a press conference on Monday.
“He won’t make it this week,” Vrabel told reporters from the Gillette Stadium
podium.
Starting the Packers game at left guard, Brown remained down after suffering a knee injury late in the second quarter. He departed for the blue medial tent on the sideline and later the locker room, and was initially announced as questionable to return. However, he never made his back onto the field.
In Brown’s place, Walter Rouse finished the game at left guard. Based on the personnel available, Rouse is also likely to draw the start against the Lions.
That said, Vrabel did not rule out the possibility of his team activating fellow interior lineman Greg Van Roten from injured reserve in the coming days.
“That’s something that we’ll look at,” Vrabel said. “He’s eligible and has been working hard to get back. So, we’ll take a look at that and see where he is tomorrow or Wednesday when we practice.”
The Patriots entered the 2026 regular season with Alijah Vera-Tucker and Mike Onwenu as their starting guard. However, Onwenu was lost to an achilles fracture in Week 2, followed by his backup Van Roten going down with a thigh injury just one week later. Brown was the next man up at that point, but he himself was hurt in Week 6 against the New York Jets — the same game that saw Vera-Tucker go down as well.
Unless Van Roten is indeed activated and reinserted into the lineup, the Patriots are looking at Rouse and Matt Pryor starting at left and right guard, respectively, against the Lions in Week 10.
