Brandon Browner to Make Patriots Debut Thursday vs. Jets

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 16 

Just over an hour before the Patriots hosted the Jets, Brandon Browner's status was confirmed via Doug Kyed of NESN.com:

Original Text

They say better late than never, and that's the exact phrase the New England Patriots hope applies to cornerback Brandon Browner, who confirmed he will make his season debut Thursday night against the New York Jets.

Browner shared the news after Tuesday's practice.      

“Just like anybody else who’s been held out or hurt, I’m itching,” Browner said, per Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. “[The ankle] is a lot better. I feel like I’m good to go.”

The 30-year-old cornerback signed with New England this offseason after emerging as a Pro Bowl-caliber player under Pete Carroll in Seattle from 2011 to 2013. Though the type of big, talented corner who thrives in Carroll's system, Browner's last two seasons with the Seahawks were mired by violations of the league's substance abuse policy and injuries. 

In 2012, he was docked four games after testing positive for Adderall. In 2013, he sat out eight games while dealing with a groin injury and was later indefinitely suspended by the league for marijuana use—keeping him out of the lineup for the Seahawks' Super Bowl run. That suspension, initially expected to be at least a year, was later altered to end after the first four games of the 2014 season.

Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

Browner subsequently signed a three-year contract in New England, though he's sat out the last two weeks due to an ankle injury. It's unclear how many snaps Browner will play or what his exact role will be. The Patriots rank third in opposing passing yards per game and fifth in Football Outsiders' DVOA metric, an ascent that coincided with the signing of Darrelle Revis.

Alfonzo Dennard has returned to his starting role the past two weeks after sitting out three games with an injured shoulder. Kyle Arrington and Logan Ryan have also received significant playing time, each playing roughly half of New England's defensive snaps, per Football Outsiders.

Browner's presence will probably be situational at first, with Arrington a slot specialist and Dennard acquitting himself well across from Revis. It'll be interesting to see how he performs as well, given that he's missed most of the last year due to suspension and injury problems.

"He's still an excellent player. He's a very good press coverage cornerback," ESPN's Seahawks reporter Terry Blount said, via ESPN Boston. "However, if he was still in Seattle, he would not be starting over Byron Maxwell. Not even close. There was a point early last season, before Brandon got injured and before the suspension and all that stuff, where he actually got benched in a game because he was not playing very well."

Browner, for his part, seemed excited to get on the field in any capacity.

“It’s hard to get ready for a game other than being out there,” Browner said. “You never can prepare for those live bullets until you’re out there. Playbook and film, you can do all that all you want until you go out there and you get hit.”

The Patriots are looking for their third straight win. The Jets, sitting last in passing yards per game, have dropped five straight games.  

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