A.J. Brown misses practice as knee issue flares up

New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown missed Thursday’s practice because of a knee issue that had flared up, according to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport, adding uncertainty about his availability for Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins. The team had listed Brown as limited Wednesday with ankle and knee issues. Brown is still working through an ankle injury that sidelined him for four games. He returned in Week 6, but said Wednesday that he is not yet feeling as explosive as he would like. He described sometimes pushing through the injury and said it was not an excuse for his performance. The receiver has six catches on 16 targets across his first two games back, according to one report. He caught three passes on 10 targets for 27 yards against the New York Jets, then had three catches for 48 yards on six targets against the Chicago Bears. His return has followed an ankle injury suffered in the season opener against Seattle. The Thursday absence was attributed to a knee issue that had flared up. The Patriots’ Wednesday report listed Brown as limited with ankle and knee issues; the team had not established his final status for the Dolphins game in the reports...