It appears the New England Patriots have dodged a bullet when it comes to the injury suffered by left tackle Will Campbell.
Campbell sustained a knee injury in the second half of the Week 12 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that led to him being carted to the locker room.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, it appears Campbell has avoided a season-ending injury. Rapoport reveals that Campbell is dealing with an MCL sprain, which can be a multi-week injury but typically isn't a season-ender.
An MRI is still coming for Campbell to determine the severity and he is a candidate for injured reserve, but the hope right now is that the first-round pick will return at some point.
"Patriots LT Will Campbell is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain and will have an MRI on his knee, sources said. He’s a candidate for Injured Reserve, with the hope he returns when it counts the most," Rapoport reported.
Rapoport's update falls in line with a report from Patriots analyst Daniel Rotman, who reported on Sunday night that Campbell is believed to have a sprain.
"REPORT: Subject to further testing tomorrow, both Will Campbell and Jared Wilson are believed to have sprains," Rotman reported. "Neither injury is considered long-term as of now (per source)."
On Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel was a guest on The Greg Hill Show and said he expects Campbell to "probably" miss more than one or two games. That also suggests Campbell has avoided a season-ending injury.
"We won't know much. Yesterday was not a great day for us with injuries. There will be some players that went out of that game yesterday that won't be available Monday night," Vrabel said, per ESPN's Mike Reiss. "Hopefully we get some of those guys back. We have an extra day. I won't be able to tell you much."
"I wouldn't imagine that Will [Campbell] is going play in the game. I don't think that will be something that will happen. That injury is going to probably be more than a week or two," Vrabel added.
It won't be easy navigating multiple games without Campbell, but the Patriots are in a good spot to weather the storm and still comfortably make the playoffs without their starting left tackle.
New England sits with a 10-2 record and in first place in the AFC East by three in the win column over the Buffalo Bills.
The Pats also have a favorable schedule, with games against the New York Giants, Bills, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins over their last five.
The most important thing is getting Campbell back for the playoffs and right now it looks like that will happen.
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