All things considered, things could have gone much worse for the Patriots here in the days after the attrition that came during the team’s grinding 26-20 win over the Bengals in Week 12. The offensive line took back-to-back major blows, with rookie guard Jared Wilson going down with what appeared to be a serious ankle injury, followed by No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell going out with a knee injury.
Campbell was carted off with a towel over his face, and the look and feel of the injury had most thinking he’d torn his ACL and would not be seen on the field again until the 2026 season.
But it’s not all that bad, after all. Coach Mike Vrabel said on Wednesday that Campbell is, in fact, going to hit the IR. He did not get into Wilson’s situation, saying only that Wilson won’t be on the field for Week 13’s game against the Giants. “Neither of them will be out there this week. That’s the expectation. I can pretty much guarantee you that,” he said.
Patriots Put Will Campbell on IR
Here’s what Vrabel had to say about Campbell and the IR–as well as the moves the team made in the aftermath, on Wednesday at Patriots practice:
“We’ll put Will on IR here at 4 o’clock. We signed Miles Battle to the 53-man roster. We put Double-A – Alex Austin – on injured reserve. Signed Bill Murray to the practice squad. And obviously Thayer [Munford Jr.], he’s signed from Cleveland’s practice squad.
“So, just working through some moving parts here as we get to the middle part of our week with Monday night preparation, and everything that we’ll have to do to make sure that we’ve got 48 guys that all have a role and understand how they can help us win the game on Monday.”
Jared Wilson Not Using a Walking Boot
While he was not clear about what’s next for Wilson, there were Easter eggs all around that seem to forebode good news for the Patriots on the rookie guard.
Before the Campbell announcement, Diana Russini of The Athletic had written that things were trending up for Wilson: “New England Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell is expected to miss at least four weeks with a knee injury and will most likely land on injured reserve. But rookie left guard Jared Wilson (ankle) has received better news and could be back much sooner.”
Boston Herald beat reporter Andrew Callahan noted from the Patriots locker room that Wilson–and Milton Williams, currently on the IR with a high ankle sprain–is walking without boot help.
On Twitter/X, Callahan wrote, “Good news: Jared Wilson and Milton Williams both walking without the aid of a boot in the #Patriots locker room. Williams wore one last week and has a sleeve on his lower left leg today. Wilson had a boot after Sunday’s game and is in sneakers. Both have high ankle sprains.”
Patriots Sticking With Ben Brown for Jared Wilson, Vederian Lowe for Will Campbell
As for this week, it looks like Ben Brown, who filled in for Wilson in the Patriots win, will do the same on Monday against the Giants. And Vederian Lowe will be in place to fill in for Campbell, though Vrabel said that rookie Marcus Bryant could be in the mix there, too.
“I think the plan right now would be to go with Vederian coming out of that game, and Marcus will be ready to go. He has to be ready to go,” Vrabel said
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