The New England Patriots achieved the goal of Head Coach Mike Vrabel by dethroning the Buffalo Bills from the top of the AFC East. Some felt a challenge to the Bills was on the way, as Vrabel engineered a masterful offseason, one for the ages.
One key acquisition was his drafting left tackle Will Campbell with his first Patriots draft pick. Yet Campbell has been on IR of late, and a key call by Vrabel will be whether he practices this week now that he's eligible and maybe plays against Miami.
Campbell had played well in his rookie season until he sprained his MCL in the game against the Bengals in Week 14. Now, Vrabel, as he did with star defensive tackle Milton Williams for Week 17, will have to decide if and when Campbell will return to practice and active play.
With the Patriots already having wrapped up the AFC East, the team still has a slight chance to lock up the first seed in the AFC by beating Miami if the Broncos also lose to the Chargers. That would get them a bye week for additional rest and healing of their injured players and home-field advantage throughout.
Mike Vrabel has a big decision to make on Will Campbell
While speaking to reporters on Monday morning, Vrabel revealed that Campbell will return to practice this week and see how he feels leading up to their season finale game on Sunday.
Whether that means he will play is yet to be determined.
Mike Vrabel says he thinks LT Will Campbell (knee) will begin practicing this week, as this is the first week he is eligible to do so on injured reserve.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 29, 2025
Vrabel took the safe route with star defensive tackle Milton Williams against the Jets. Now with the East wrapped up, he may just do the same with Campbell and maybe with Williams again, as well. While both would enhance the team's effort against Miami, the team responded well without them and pummeled the Jets in Week 17. That will probably impact the Coach's decision.
Mike Vrabel will probably take the safe option with Will Campbell
Keeping Campbell on the sideline against Miami is probably the prudent thing for Vrabel to do. He has utilized veteran left tackle Vederian Lowe in his absence. While Lowe is not a starting-caliber NFL left tackle, he has acquitted himself fairly well. That will mitigate towards the safer course with Campbell.
Additionally, while Miami with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback has been a thorn in the Patriots' side for years, the Patriots' offense, even with several critical injuries, is on a roll. Drake Maye and company should be able to outscore the "Phins even if Tua starts and scores some points.
And a final reason why Vrabel might not risk bringing either Campbell or Williams back for the final pre-playoff game is that, even if they lose to Miami, the Patriots have been what tight end Hunter Henry has called, "Road Warrior". Indeed, that's been the case in 2025, as they've reeled off eight straight wins.
So the issue of playing a playoff game on the road at some point shouldn't be much of a factor, though a bye week to further rest and recuperate the injured wouldn't hurt at all. The indicators suggest that Vrabel will keep both Campbell and Williams on the shelf for another week. Then it's all in. It's the playoffs, and, as it did in 2001, anything can happen, anything at all.