On Monday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the latest on rookie left guard Jared Wilson:
“Patriots LG Jared Wilson suffered a high-ankle sprain, sources say, and he’s considered week-to-week. While most high-ankle sprains are 4-6 weeks, the hope is this is on the shorter side.”
On the third play of Sunday's win for the Patriots (10-2) in Cincinnati (3-8), Wilson went down after a 2-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson. After heading to the blue medical tent, he did not return to the ballgame with guard Ben Brown coming in to replace him.
Wilson’s injury was compounded by his fellow rookie offensive lineman Will Campbell going down in the second half.
On the first play of New England’s second possession in the third quarter, Campbell went down after another short run to his side by Henderson. After being helped off the field to the medical tent, Campbell was seen being carted from the sidelines to the locker room with a towel over his head.
Never a good sign.
Fans and media immediately began to fall down the rabbit hole of discussing what this season will look like moving forward without the No. 4 overall pick, who has been nothing but solid throughout the 2025 campaign.
Fast forward to Sunday evening, and Daniel Rotman of ScoutNFL.com was reporting on X that both Campbell and fellow rookie offensive lineman Jared Wilson are believed to have sprains, saying “neither injury is considered long-term as of now (per source).”
It was a glimmer of hope for Patriots fans who saw the entire left side of their offensive line go down on Sunday, wondering if MVP candidate Drake Maye’s blindside was about to become the same liability it was in 2024 when manned by Vederian Lowe and a host of other guards next to him.
Fast forward to Monday morning’s Greg Hill Show, and head coach Mike Vrabel may have added another layer of hope to Campbell’s impending prognosis.
Here’s everything Vrabel had to say on the topic on WEEI:
Mike Vrabel: “We won't know much. Yesterday was not a great day for us with injuries. So there'll be some players that went out of that game yesterday that won't be available on Monday night [in Week 13]. Hopefully we get some of those guys back. We get an extra day. But I won't be able to tell you much. I wouldn't imagine that Will [Campbell is] gonna play in the game. I don't think that that'll be something that'll happen, that injury is gonna probably be more than a week or two.”
Greg Hill: “He looked - I mean, had the towel over the head when he was going out. So it looked like, I mean - obviously he's a guy who wants to play, and it looked like he was upset.”
MV: “Yeah - I mean, I think they all want to play. And again, those young players haven’t had a lot of, probably, injuries or things that have affected them, and so we'll have to - there's a lot of things we have to manage through and try to help these guys get over that they haven't experienced.”
Courtney Cox: “So the reports that it was sprain that are out there -”
MV: “Well, I think you have to understand sprains have different severities. So sprain, strain, not sure - but I just know that he's probably not going to be there Monday night. And I don't think it's going to be something that's going to keep him out, you know - this is not career ending. But I wouldn't anticipate him being out there Monday.”
With inevitable testing to come over the next day or so, more information on Campbell’s situation will be known soon enough. But as of Monday morning, it appears the LSU-product has avoided something that would end his rookie season.
Crisis seemingly averted, people.
Shortly after Vrabel's WEEI appearance, Rapoport reported that Campbell "is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain and will have an MRI on his knee." He went on to say that sources tell him Campbell is "a candidate for Injured Reserve, with the hope he returns when it counts the most."
If this pair of reports for Rapoport are true, it appears the Patriots have avoided the worst possible case scenario on the left side of their offensive line.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.