The New England Patriots didn't have the services of left tackle Will Campbell for the Week 13 game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to a knee injury.
Campbell, who suffered an MCL sprain in Week 12, will miss at least the next three games after his placement on injured reserve. Of course, the Week 14 bye does not count toward the minimum four-week stay on IR.
While it remains to be seen if Campbell will be ready to go by Week 18, when he is first eligible to come off from injured reserve, there was a positive sign he might be able to on Monday.
As the Patriots filed into the building for their first post-bye practice, Campbell was spotted in the locker room without anything on his knee before he eventually put a sleeve on it, according to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald.
"Patriots rookie LT Will Campbell was walking through the locker room with nothing on his knee. Did eventually put a sleeve over his right leg," Kyed said.
The fact that Campbell doesn't need anything on his knee to get around is a good sign and suggests his MCL sprain is on the less severe side.
This is good news in the wake of Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reporting that the rookie had a "very significant injury," and more specifically a Grade 3 MCL sprain, which "essentially means his MCL is torn."
"I would hope not," head coach Mike Vrabel said of Breer's report. "So far, so good [on recovery]. I haven't seen him yet today."
An MCL sprain typically has a four to six week recovery timeline, depending on severity.
If Campbell is on the short end of that return timeline, he could make it back for the regular-season finale. That would be huge because Campbell can knock off the rust before the playoffs.
If Campbell ends up on the longer end of that timeline, he'll be in danger of missing a playoff game. The Patriots can give themselves more of a cushion by securing the No. 1 seed, which would afford a first-round bye and an extra week for Campbell.
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