The New England Patriots have made the decision everyone expected them to with rookie left tackle Will Campbell.
On Wednesday, head coach Mike Vrabel revealed that the Patriots rookie left tackle will be placed on injured reserve due to his knee injury suffered in Week 12.
"Mike Vrabel said the Patriots will place Will Campbell on injured reserve," The Athletic's Chad Graff relayed.
Campbell was diagnosed with an MCL sprain, according to reports, which was good news considering everyone thought Campbell had suffered a season-ending injury at first after he was clearly distraught while being carted to the locker room.
Looking ahead, how long can we expect Campbell to be out?
Here's what we know.
How long is Will Campbell out?
With Campbell now on injured reserve, the Patriots rookie will have to miss at least the next four games.
With the Pats having a Week 14 bye (bye weeks don't count toward the four-week stay), the earliest Campbell can return is Week 18 against the Miami Dolphins.
The good news is that timeline allows him to return for the first playoff game, but it is important to note that there's no guarantee Campbell will be ready to go after the four-week minimum.
Earlier in the day, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported that Campbell would miss at least four weeks, so that leaves the door open for him to not return when first eligible.
However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport adds that Campbell "sounds like he'll be able to return shortly after he's eligible to do so," so that's great news.
Ideally, Campbell returns in Week 18 so he can shake off some of the rust he'll have after missing four games, but the most important thing is getting him back for the playoffs.
The Patriots are currently sitting in the No. 1 seed in the AFC and will get a first-round bye if they can hang on for the rest of the campaign.
Achieving that feat would also give Campbell more time to return before the first playoff game if his absence extends beyond the minimum four games.
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