What's The Severity Of Will Campbell's Injury? Breer Shares Update

What's the severity of Will Campbell's injury? Breer shares update originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The New England Patriots will be short-handed when they host the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. Among those inactive for the Week 13 contest is first-round rookie left tackle Will Campbell.

Campbell suffered a right MCL sprain during the Patriots’ 26-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday. On Wednesday, New England placed Campbell on injured reserve, meaning he’ll miss at least the next four games.

Should Pats fans expect Campbell back this season? NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated shared the latest on the LSU product Monday during Pregame Live.

“Well, he’s not out for the year, but this is a very significant injury,” Breer said. “He has a Grade 3 MCL sprain. That essentially means his MCL is torn.

“It’s a four-to-six-week injury, and one of the reasons they decided to put him on injured reserve was actually to protect him from himself. 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.

“They’re going to try to get him back for the last game of the regular season. 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.”

Campbell’s injury is a tough blow to a Patriots offensive line that has taken a significant step forward following an abysmal 2024. With Campbell and rookie guard Jared Wilson both injured, New England will face adversity as it looks to improve on its 10-2 record and earn the top seed in the AFC.

While the Patriots could activate Campbell for their regular-season finale, Breer believes the team will be cautious given the nature of the injury.

“I just think it’s one of those where you have to be careful about guys pushing it,” he added. “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.

“But I would say this: if the Patriots were in the position they were at this time last year, when there was nothing to play for, they would probably shut him down for the rest of the season.”

Through the first 12 games of his NFL career, Campbell has excelled at protecting quarterback Drake Maye’s blindside. Vederian Lowe will replace him as the Patriots’ starting left tackle, with Ben Brown expected to take over for Wilson.

The short-handed Patriots (10-2) are looking for their 10th consecutive victory Monday night. They can retake the top seed in the AFC with a win over the lowly Giants (2-10).