The New England Patriots will be without their starting left tackle for the foreseeable future after Will Campbell suffered an ankle injury in the team’s Week 12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Shortly after the game, the Patriots placed Campbell on injured reserve, but one NFL Insider is providing some additional information on his specific injury timeline.
“Well, he’s not out for the year, but this is a very significant injury,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said on NBC Sports Boston’s pregame coverage. “He has a Grade 3 MCL sprain. That essentially means his MCL is torn. It’s a four-to-six week injury.”
He went on to say that the reason the Patriots ensured he would be sidelined for a minimum of four games was that they didn’t want him to try and come back before he was fully healed.
“One of the reasons they decided to put him on injured reserve was actually to protect him from himself,” Breer added. “They felt like, because of who he is, how tough he is, the sort of competitor he is, that he would push to get back earlier than that. This puts a governor on it. This forces him to go through a full recovery.”
When Are the Patriots Expecting Will Campbell Back?
GettyNew England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell is on injured reserve due to a knee injury.
Campbell’s placement on injured reserve before the team’s primetime matchup against the Giants meant that he will have to miss a minimum of four games. Along with New York, he is set to be sidelined against the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Jets.
So, when are the Patriots expecting the star rookie to return?
“They’re going to try to get him back for the last game of the regular season,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston. “Even that may be pushing it a little bit. This is not a minor injury, though. This is an MCL tear, a Grade 3 MCL sprain, which again necessitates a four-to-six-week recovery.”
However, it’s important that the Patriots don’t try to push him into returning sooner than he is ready, especially if they plan to continue their success deep into the postseason.
“I just think it’s one of those where you have to be careful about guys pushing it,” Breer explained. “It’s the type of injury that you can aggravate, and you can make worse by playing on it. And there are a lot of examples of guys, especially in a position like Will Campbell’s, trying to play through these sorts of things. So I think in a certain way, the Patriots put him on IR, trying to look out for him and trying to make sure that he does go through as full a recovery as you can in season.”
Who Is Filling In at Left Tackle for Will Campbell?
GettyNew England Patriots T Vederian Lowe started in place of Will Campbell, who is out with a knee injury.
Vederian Lowe replaced Campbell against the Bengals and got the start on Monday night against the Giants. He was given a tall task, having to protect quarterback Drake Maye’s blind side against a talented New York pass rush.
However, Maye made it clear that he had full faith in Lowe, along with guard Left Brown, who was filling in for Jared Wilson. And the two rose to the challenge.
“I told them I had full faith in them,” Maye said. “We had a lot of reps last year dropping back and trusting those guys. I think they’re great players, and they’ve stepped up, like I said, in pregame. I think they stepped up all year anybody that’s been thrown in the fire. Proud of them.”
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