Patriots' Pharaoh Brown: Involvement on offense declining
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Brown played 32 of the Patriots' 64 snaps on offense but went without a target in Sunday's 6-0 loss to the Chargers.
Brown made some splash plays over the Patriots' first eight games of the season with four of his seven receptions during that stretch going for 20-plus yards, but he's been relegated almost exclusively to a blocking role ever since. The 29-year-old has gone without a target in four straight contests, and fellow tight ends Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki should remain more involved in the passing game than Brown in the weeks to come.
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Patriots' Pharaoh Brown: Active for Sunday's game
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Brown (back) is listed as active for Sunday's game against the Commanders.
After missing practice Wednesday, Brown returned to limited sessions Thursday and Friday prior to being listed as questionable for Week 9 action. The tight end will be out there Sunday, but given that he continues to work in a time-share with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki, Brown's weekly fantasy upside is limited.
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Patriots' Pharaoh Brown: Misses practice Wednesday
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Brown didn't practice Wednesday due to a back injury.
Brown logged 21 of the Patriots' 53 snaps on offense in this past Sunday's loss to the Dolphins, catching both of his targets for 33 yards. Now that the tight end has missed Wednesday's practice, he'll have two more chances to return to the field ahead of Sunday's game against the Commanders. If Brown is able to suit up this weekend, he'll continue to work in a timeshare at tight end with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki.
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Patriots' Pharaoh Brown: Catches two passes Sunday
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Brown played 21 of 53 snaps on offense and caught both of his targets for 33 yards in Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Dolphins.
Brown, who now has four catches for 84 yards over his last two outings, actually out-snapped Mike Gesicki (15 snaps, two catches) Sunday, but with Hunter Henry (31 snaps, three catches) also in the mix, he's involved in a timeshare at tight end that limits his weekly fantasy ceiling.
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Patriots' Pharaoh Brown: Scores TD versus Jets
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Brown caught both of his targets for 71 yards and a TD in Sunday's 15-10 win over the Jets.
Though Brown, who logged 25 snaps Sunday, saw less playing time than fellow TEs Hunter Henry (62 snaps) and Mike Gesicki (34), the 58-yard score that the 29-year-old recorded in the second quarter of the contest resulted in him being the Patriots' leading Week 3 receiver in terms of yardage. Given that Brown didn't catch any passes during the team's first two contests, he's not a high-percentage fantasy option as long as Henry and Gesicki remain available.
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Patriots' Pharaoh Brown: Joins Patriots
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New England signed Brown to its 53-man roster Monday.
Brown joins Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki on the Patriots' tight end depth chart ahead of Week 1 versus Philadelphia. As the latter is recovering from an AC joint injury, Brown could see an increased workload in Week 1.
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Pharaoh Brown: Gets practice squad spot
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Brown joined the Patriots' practice squad Wednesday.
Brown spent the offseason and training camp with the Colts before ultimately becoming a victim to final roster cuts. Prior to Indianapolis, the veteran had stints with the Raiders and Browns. All-in-all he has recorded 478 yards and two touchdowns on 51 receptions across 55 regular season games. He will now attempt to adapt to things in New England as quickly as possible.
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Pharaoh Brown: Cut loose by Indianapolis
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The Colts released Brown on Tuesday, Joel A. Erickson of The Indianapolis Star reports.
Brown signed with the Colts in March after splitting time in Cleveland and Houston last season, accumulating 12 catches for 117 yards. He registered three catches for 40 yards in three preseason games. The five-year veteran will explore his options once he clears waivers.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: No injury designation
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Brown doesn't have an injury designation for Sunday's matchup against the Bengals, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Brown returned to practice Friday as a full participant after being sidelined Thursday due to an illness. The backup tight end has caught five of 10 targets for 45 yards across eight appearances since joining Cleveland midway through the 2022 campaign.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: Starts for Njoku
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Brown caught his lone target for 11 yards in Sunday's 27-14 win over the Texans.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson wasn't the only member of the Browns returning to the stadium where he once played. Brown, who was released by the Texans earlier this season, was in the starting lineup as a replacement for the injured David Njoku (knee) and played 40 snaps, the most he's had since joining the Browns in Week 5. Watson hadn't played a regular-season game since 2020, so they deployed a run-heavy scheme, which called for a tight end like Brown with elite blocking skills. He's caught five of 10 targets for 45 yards in eight games for Cleveland.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: Moves up depth chart
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Brown was not targeted over 25 snaps in Monday's 32-13 win over the Bengals.
Brown moved up to second on the tight end depth chart due to David Njoku (ankle) being inactive, and his snap count was his highest since joining the Browns. Cleveland was able to run its offense, which meant a low-volume passing attack that resulted in no tight ends being targeted.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: Questionable for Monday
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Brown (concussion/neck) is questionable for Monday's contest against the Bengals, Anthony Poisal of the Browns' official site reports.
Brown didn't practice Thursday or Friday due to a concussion, but he logged a limited session Saturday and still has a chance to suit up Monday. With David Njoku (ankle) already ruled out, Harrison Bryant is in line to be Cleveland's top tight end, but if Brown is also unavailable, Miller Forristall or Zaire Mitchell-Paden will likely be elevated from the practice squad.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: Still not practicing Friday
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Brown (concussion/neck) wasn't spotted at Friday's practice, Scott Petrak of The Chronicle-Telegram reports.
Cleveland's injury report won't come out until Saturday since the Browns will play Monday in Week 8, but back-to-back absences from practice don't bode well for Brown's chances of suiting up. He'll still need to pass the NFL's concussion protocol before being cleared to play. With David Njoku (ankle) in line to be out, Harrison Bryant is the only healthy tight end on Cleveland's roster at the moment.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: In concussion protocol
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Brown was added to the NFL's concussion protocol Wednesday, Chris Easterling of the Akron Beacon Journal reports.
Brown was removed from the Cleveland's Week 7 loss to Baltimore with what was initially described as a neck injury. He was evaluated for a concussion and now is part of the protocol, joining teammates Denzel Ward and Joe Haeg. The Browns are expected to be without David Njoku (ankle) in their Week 8 game against the Bengals on Monday and could be without Brown, too, potentially leaving Harrison Bryant as their primary tight end.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: Exits Sunday's game
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Brown left Sunday's game against the Ravens with a neck injury, Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.
With Brown injured and David Njoku out of the game due to an ankle injury, Harrison Bryant is the Browns' lone healthy tight end in the fourth quarter of Sunday's contest.
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Browns' Pharaoh Brown: Makes Browns debut
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Brown played two snaps in Sunday's 30-28 loss to the Chargers in Week 5.
Brown, who was signed earlier in the week, was actually listed as a starter, but the newest member of the team had little impact. As the season advances, it's likely Brown will get more on-field work, but he's considered primarily a blocking tight end, while David Njoku is the pass-catching threat at the position. Njoku has turned into the offensive force the organization thought it was getting when he was drafted in the first round of 2017.
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Pharaoh Brown: Cut loose by Houston
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The Texans informed Brown (hip/shoulder) of his release Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com reports.
Houston's decision to cut ties with Brown comes as a surprise, given that he was signed to a one-year, $3 million guaranteed deal in March and had started in each of the Texans' first three games. The tight end was valued mostly as a blocker but had contributed seven receptions for 72 yards on 10 targets across his 134 offensive snaps on the season. He was inactive for the Texans' Week 4 game due to hip and shoulder injuries, but the team hadn't provided any indication that either issue was expected to result in a long-term absence. Brown's release should free up more snaps for Brevin Jordan (ankle) and O.J. Howard, with Jordan Akins a candidate to be signed from the practice squad to serve as additional depth.
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Texans' Pharaoh Brown: Inactive Sunday
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Brown (hip/shoulder) is inactive for Sunday's game versus the Chargers.
With Brown unavailable Sunday, Jordan Akins and O.J. Howard are in line to head Houston's Week 4 tight end corps, with Mason Schreck in reserve. While neither Akins or Howard are high-percentage fantasy plays, Akins managed to haul in three of his four targets for 31 yards and a TD last weekend against the Bears, so he profiles as an option for those scrambling for short-term TE help.
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Texans' Pharaoh Brown: No restrictions Week 3
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Brown caught three of four targets for 31 yards in Sunday's 23-20 loss to Chicago in Week 3.
Brown was limited by a shoulder injury during the week but was able to play a season-high 48 snaps while seeing usage as a receiving option and not just a blocker. Houston's No. 1 tight end has seven catches on 10 targets for 72 yards through three contests.
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Texans' Pharaoh Brown: Dealing with shoulder injury
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Brown (shoulder) did not practice Thursday.
Brown was not on the injury report Wednesday, so that he was listed as a non-participant rather than a limited participant Thursday might indicate Brown developed the shoulder injury following Wednesday's practice. With no diagnosis or other clarity offered by Houston in the meantime, a wide range of outcomes are possible for Brown. If he returns to practice Friday he should have a good shot of playing against Chicago on Sunday, but if he misses Friday's practice then the Texans might need O.J. Howard to step up into a three-down role since fellow tight end Brevin Jordan (ankle) is also looking iffy for Sunday.
