The Will Campbell knee injury could sideline the New England Patriots left tackle after Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that Campbell is believed to have suffered a knee sprain and is expected to miss time. The report raises an immediate question about New England’s options at left tackle, but it does not establish how long Campbell will be unavailable or what the team’s next lineup will look like.
The report did not confirm a diagnosis or specify how long Campbell might be out. An MRI was planned for Monday to assess the injury. Until those findings are available, the description of a sprain remains an unconfirmed belief attributed to Rapoport’s report, rather than a diagnosis supplied by the Patriots. The expected absence is also not a specific timetable: the report did not say how many games Campbell might miss.
Will Campbell knee injury: what Ian Rapoport reported
Rapoport reported that Campbell suffered the injury during the Patriots’ victory over the Raiders. His account included two distinct points: Campbell is believed to have a knee sprain, and the expectation is that he will miss time. Neither point came with a confirmed diagnosis or a defined return date in the report.
That distinction matters when describing the status. A reported belief about the type of injury is not the same as a confirmed medical finding, and an expectation that a player will miss time does not establish the length of an absence. Rapoport’s report did not say whether Campbell would miss only a short stretch or a longer portion of the season. It also did not identify a particular upcoming game as one he would definitely miss.
The available information therefore supports a limited conclusion: Campbell was hurt against Las Vegas, a knee sprain was believed to be the issue, and he was expected to be sidelined for some period. More specific claims about the injury or its consequences would go beyond what the report provided. The planned examination was the next step identified in the account.
MRI was planned to assess the injury
According to Rapoport, Campbell was expected to undergo an MRI on Monday to help determine the injury’s severity. The report did not include MRI findings or a return timetable, so the diagnosis and duration of any absence remain unknown. The scan was described as a plan, not as a completed test with results already available.
The MRI was intended to provide more information about the knee injury and its severity. Until that assessment is reported, the initial description cannot be treated as a final determination. The source did not say what the examination would show, and it did not give a projected recovery period tied to a particular result.
For that reason, the Monday MRI is the key next piece of information in the report, but it does not itself answer the availability question. The account gave no update after the planned examination and no statement from the team about Campbell’s status. Readers should distinguish between the reported expectation that he will miss time and any later conclusion about the length of his absence, which was not available in the cited report.
Caleb Lomu replaced Campbell against the Raiders
Caleb Lomu replaced Campbell during Sunday’s game, according to the report. That identifies the immediate replacement in the contest but does not establish who would start at left tackle if Campbell misses time. The report did not describe any longer-term lineup decision.
Lomu’s appearance in relief is a concrete detail from the game, but it should not be read as confirmation that he would take over the starting role in future contests. The source described what happened after Campbell was replaced on Sunday; it did not report a subsequent depth-chart change, a coaching decision, or a plan for the next game.
Campbell’s expected absence makes the left-tackle position a point to watch, while the available account leaves the answer open. It does not identify another player who would be assigned the job, describe how the Patriots might handle the position, or indicate whether Lomu would remain the replacement. Those questions depend on information that the report did not provide.
What is known about Campbell’s Patriots season
New England selected Campbell with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He had appeared in four Patriots games in 2026 at the time of the report. Those details establish his draft status and his game appearances that season, but the report does not add a breakdown of his playing time or describe his performance in those games.
The source also notes that Campbell is 22 and was a three-year starter at LSU. During his college career, he appeared in 38 games and made 38 starts, all at left tackle. He earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2022 and first-team All-SEC honors in 2023. That background places his professional position in the context of the role he played in college, while offering no additional information about the current knee injury.
Campbell’s selection near the top of the 2025 draft and his experience at left tackle help explain why his availability is relevant to the Patriots’ lineup. Still, the report does not state that New England has made a decision about how to cover for him, nor does it assess the effect of a potential absence on the team. The only replacement specifically identified was Lomu, who took over during the Raiders game.
The source also reports that Campbell signed a four-year contract worth $43,589,604, including a $28,341,527 signing bonus, and that the agreement includes a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2028. Those contract details do not clarify the injury’s severity or change the uncertainty around his availability. The report provides them as background on Campbell, not as an update on his medical status.
Rapoport’s report did not provide further details about the Patriots’ plans at left tackle. The length of Campbell’s expected absence and any lineup implications remain unclear. In particular, the report did not specify a number of games, a date for his return, or a confirmed replacement beyond Lomu’s role during Sunday’s contest.
This update is based on a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media. The report described a knee sprain as a belief, said an MRI was planned, and did not specify how long Campbell might be sidelined. Further information about the diagnosis, severity, availability, and the Patriots’ plans at left tackle was not included in that report.
