FOXBOROUGH, Mass — Before boarding the planes and heading to Germany, the New England Patriots held one final practice at Gillette Stadium.
Here's what I'm hearing:
A.J. Brown returns
It seems A.J. Brown is getting closer to getting back to playing as the wide receiver was spotted out at practice on Wednesday, which marked the first time after he missed all the practices leading up to the past two games.
So, could Brown play this weekend as the team heads to Germany?
"Yeah, we'll see what he can do," head coach Mike Vrabel said. "And I would say most everybody but a few guys are going to go to Germany. I'm including him as the group that would go."
🚨 WR A.J. Brown as returned to practice 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pPd334fjqI
— Sophie Weller (@sophieewellerr) November 11, 2026
However, him traveling does not automatically mean
he's good to go for Sunday.
"There's going to be guys that go to Germany that won't play," he added. "I don't know who those will be, but there'll be a lot of guys that'll go to Germany that won't be active. I don't know who those are."
Robert Spillane clarifies his comments
On Wednesday, Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane had people talking when he made some comments during an appearance on WEEI, responding to sentiments shared by his head coach and fellow teammate following the embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Vrabel and Hollins both said that they want players who want to be here.
"You are going to have ask Mike Vrabel and Mack Hollins about the comments they decided to make" Spillane said. "Those are words that came from them. I don't agree with those words."
On Wednesday, Vrabel was asked if he felt the message he was trying to send didn't get across right or if he had a further conversation with the team about it.
"No, I didn't have to explain myself, and he didn't say anything to me," Vrabel explained. "Listen, I want people to be here. I want you guys to want to be here. If we're going to get together and we're going to have a team, I want people that want to be here. That's really nothing new. That's not earth-shattering. So, I tried to explain that it wasn't an accusation. And if somebody took it like that, then it's probably who we were talking to."
Patriots Wire also took a moment to speak exclusively with Spillane, where the linebacker explained exactly what he meant by those words.
"What I was trying to relay, from my understanding, every man that I've talked to pours so much into this game, has so much pride in what they what they do on Sundays," he said. "So I never question that in any man, and nobody in this locker room has given me reason to question their efforts."
"I think this team is a collection of people from all over this country, and we're coming together for one goal, and that only goal is to win football games. So that's our only focus here today and every day going forward," he added.
Corey Kiner ready to go following Rhamondre Stevenson injury
The Patriots' running back room is the latest to be hit with bad injury luck, as the team is without TreVeyon Henderson and now also Rhamondre Stevenson, who suffered a knee injury in last week's game. So with that, it now means a much bigger role for Corey Kiner.
"I got great guys around me, helping me out, and I feel very comfortable going into this week," Kiner said, also highlighting how he's improved in this offense. "Just my ability as an all-around running back, not just running the ball, but pass-catching and pass protection as well."
There have been a few different reports surrounding Stevenson's injury, all saying he could miss a few weeks. So, could he land on injured reserve?
"Again, there's a chance that anything could happen, but I'm not going to speculate on any of that," Vrabel said. "But the injuries and the injured reserve, I mean, if you pay attention, we don't have too many spots left here to bring guys back on injured reserve."
Preparing for Detroit
After a devestating loss against the Packers, the Patriots are looking to get back on track this weekend, but will have their hands full with a tough Lions team. And on top of all that, they are headed overseas, with the game being played in Munich.
So, what are they seeing from this Detroit team?
"I think they know how to win. They've built, I would say, a program that I know that they're proud of," Vrabel explained. "Dan's [Campbell] a good football coach. I think Jared's [Goff] playing at a high level. Continued the last three years, he’s been at a high level. Great skill players, speed, physical. The defense has played really well the last three weeks, and they stay aggressive on fourth down. They stay aggressive on special teams. So, certainly it'll be a huge challenge. They don't turn the ball over offensively at all."
What's the plan for the open roster spot?
The Patriots released tight end Tanner Arkin from the active roster, bringing him back on the practice squad. And with that, it gives them the opportunity to activate another player from injured reserve, having a few different guys who are elibable.
Following Ben Brown's injury, one choice is Greg Van Roten, who began practicing last week. But, Vrabel also revealed that the team would be getting their fullback back on the practice field as well.
"Yeah, I mean, again, we'll probably get to 53. Greg returned to play. Reggie Gilliam will be back practicing, so that'll be good," Vrabel said. "We'll just have to see where that goes. This is Wednesday. This is the first practice of the week, and it'll be important for us to see how those guys do."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: What I’m hearing at Gillette Stadium: Wednesday word (Week 10)
