These New England Patriots sure are back, aren't they? At 10-2, the Pats have now won nine games in a row. The culture and attitude shift is real under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel, and it certainly helps to have gone out and gotten players who buy into what he's been selling.
One of those key players, though, is on the receiving end of some bad news. First-round pick, offensive tackle Will Campbell, suffered a knee injury in the win against the Cincinnati Bengals this past weekend. And, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, it doesn't look like a minor injury.
"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 via his social account.
Will Campbell's knee injury doesn't seem to be worst-case scenario, but it's bad nonetheless
All things considered, Patriots fans should at least be thankful that this wasn't a complete tear or something along those lines. Had Campbell torn his MCL, he'd be out the remainder of the season, no question.
Right now, if he is a candidate for injured reserve, then that means he'll likely miss four games with a chance to miss more. But, assuming he's on injured reserve and comes back after just four weeks, he'll be back in time for the postseason.
If we're looking at the positives, here, there are even more if you look at the Patriots' next four games. Thankfully, none of those four teams are in the top third of the league in sacks. The closest is the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants who check in with 26, apiece, right now.
The other two games come against the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, who are darn-near the bottom of the league in this number. So, to be quite frank, the Patriots couldn't have asked for a better time for Campbell to potentially miss a handful of games.
They'll sorely miss him, sure. But, Drake Maye and Josh McDaniels will be able to game-plan in a way that allows the second-year quarterback to continue his tear. The only real scary matchup might be Baltimore, who has looked much better on that side of the ball over the last few weeks.
For now, we wait for official results and stay positive.