Will Campbell injury: sprained knee, MRI, no timeline yet

Campbell hurt the same knee he tore an MCL in last season

The bottom line: Will Campbell is believed to have sprained his right knee in Sunday’s 45-17 win over the Raiders and was due for an MRI on Monday. It is the knee in which he tore the MCL as a rookie. The Patriots have not given a timeline, and Mike Vrabel said Monday that he does not know how much time Campbell will miss.

What happened

The bottom line: Campbell went down in the second quarter when his right leg was landed on at the end of a 4-yard Rhamondre Stevenson run.

The details:

• He stayed on the field to be checked by the training staff, walked off with trainers and briefly returned to ride the sideline exercise bike. He went to the locker room at halftime and did not come back out.
• The Patriots listed him as questionable during the game and ruled him out midway through the third quarter.
• Campbell, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 draft, missed four games as a rookie with a torn MCL in the same right knee, NESN reported.
• Running back TreVeyon Henderson hurt an ankle two plays before Campbell went down.

What is known about the severity

The bottom line: A sprain is the working diagnosis, not a confirmed one, and no result has been announced.

The details:

• “#Patriots OT Will Campbell, whose day was cut short today with injury, is believed to have suffered a knee sprain, sources say, and he’ll have an MRI tomorrow to confirm. This will likely cause him to miss some time,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network posted on Sunday night.
• “I mean, we’ll see how the week goes. He’ll get looked at and continue to rehab. He wasn’t able to finish the game, so I don’t know how much time he’ll miss. I don’t know if he’ll be back towards the end of the week or be back Wednesday. We’ll take it day by day, see how he feels tomorrow, see what he does Wednesday and keep you updated on the injury report,” Vrabel said Monday, per the team’s transcript.
• ESPN still lists Campbell’s status as questionable as of Monday. The first practice report of the week comes Wednesday, and our Patriots injury report carries it for both teams.

Caleb Lomu takes over at left tackle

The bottom line: The rookie played a career-high 49 offensive snaps in Campbell’s place and allowed one hurry.

The details:

• Lomu, a first-round pick, had worked mainly on the right side as the backup to Morgan Moses, Patriots Wire noted.
• “I don’t think it was too big for him,” Vrabel said. “I think he was able to settle down, and we didn’t really notice him a lot. So I think that’s probably a good thing.”
• “Injuries are part of football, which sucks. You know, praying for everyone who has an injury, especially Will, but whatever happens, you got to prepare like a starter is what coach Vrabes tells us,” Lomu said, per Sports Illustrated.
• New England has already reshuffled the other side of its line. Mike Onwenu and his replacement, Greg Van Roten, are both on injured reserve, and Ben Brown has been playing right guard.

The injuries keep coming

The bottom line: Five Patriots left Sunday’s game hurt, and the team has now placed 19 players on injured reserve this season.

The details:

• Campbell, Henderson, Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), Charles Woods (shoulder) and Cory Durden (ankle) all exited and did not return, NBC Sports Boston reported.
• New England used 17 injured reserve placements in all of last season. It is at 19 through five games this year.
• Receiver Mack Hollins (calf) and fullback Reggie Gilliam (ankle/knee) were placed on injured reserve Saturday, Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald reported.
• The Patriots played the Raiders without four cornerbacks and won 45-17.
• There was one piece of good news: Vrabel said Monday that A.J. Brown, on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain since Week 1, has “a chance” to return to practice this week, Mark Daniels of MassLive reported.

New England hosts the Jets on Sunday.

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Our take

Hold off on the panic until the MRI says something. A sprain that costs a few weeks and a sprain that ends a season are the same word on a Sunday night, and nobody has said which one this is.

What’s fair to say now: this is the one injury New England could least afford, because left tackle is where “next man up” usually stops working. Lomu’s 49 snaps and one hurry are a genuinely good sign. The Jets will tell us more.

Nineteen players on injured reserve through five games, against 17 all of last season. At some point that stops being bad luck and starts being the season.