The New England Patriots are in the midst of their Week 12 game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, hoping to continue their current win streak against a depleted AFC North team. They are not only down their starting quarterback with Joe Burrow remaining sidelined, but they are also without their top receiver, as Ja'Marr Chase is serving a suspension due to conduct from last week's matchup.
Given that they are a historically bad defense this season, there has been a lot of optimism that the Patriots will have an easy time on Sunday afternoon.
But that might have just gotten a bit more difficult, as starting offensive lineman Jared Wilson suffered an injury on the Patriots' opening series.
Wilson limping off the field and heading into the blue tent. https://t.co/92MSMInTLn
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) November 23, 2025
The rookie has been a starter since day one, and recorded the best game of his career against the Jets two weeks ago. He continues to be one of the best on the field for the offense, and now it looks like he won't return to today's game.
That seems more apparent seeing that he was carted to the locker room after the opening drive.
The Patriots losing Jared Wilson would be a big blow to their offensive line
One of the biggest hurdles the new regime needed to overcome this offseason was putting together a competent offensive line that could protect Drake Maye far better than last season. They prioritized the group in the draft, selecting Will Campbell in the first round and Wilson later on, and added veteran help in free agency.
It allowed them to have the same starting lineup every week this season, something they were not able to do last year. In fact, they trotted out a different grouping almost every game in 2024, leading to Maye being sacked over 50 times.
They were well on their way to avoiding that this season, only to suffer a brutal blow in Week 12 with Wilson's injury.
Although there haven't been any updates regarding his condition so far, it certainly doesn't look good that he had to be carted to the back. Ben Brown has since stepped in for Wilson, which is a plus, as he was a solid part of the offensive line last season. But it will still be a major loss if the rookie is unable to suit up again over the next few weeks.