The New England Patriots are dealing with a couple of notable injury issues at the moment.
The New England Patriots own the NFL's best record at 11-2, so everything seems just fine and dandy in Foxborough. Or is it?
While the Patriots are playing terrific football and have won 10 games in a row, they are dealing with key injuries to offensive tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noted that both players should be back by the playoffs, but also wonders how New England will manage without them until then.
"The Patriots have injuries to two key players -- defensive tackle Milton Williams (high ankle sprain) and rookie left tackle Will Campbell (knee sprain) -- that loom large," Fowler wrote. "Williams has validated his massive free agent contract with impressive play, and Campbell has ferociously protected Drake Maye's blind side. Both should be back before the playoffs, but how New England holds up in the meantime bears watching."
New England Patriots tackle Will Campbell. Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images.The Pats' offensive line has had its fair share of issues even with Campbell healthy, as Maye has gotten sacked 40 times. That's more than he was sacked in the same amount of time (13 games) last season, and the Patriots were a complete mess in the trenches in 2024.
The main question here is whether or not Campbell — who is on injured reserve — will be 100 percent for the postseason, which makes it all the more important for New England to secure a first-round bye. The Pats selected Campbell with the fourth overall pick of the NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, the Patriots made Williams the league's most expensive free-agent addition back in the spring, hoping he would bolster a pass rush that ranked last in the NFL last season.
In 11 games this year, the former Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl hero has logged 27 tackles and 3.5 sacks while posting a 72.5 pass-rushing grade at Pro Football Focus. He last played on Nov. 13.
The Patriots looked just fine without both Campbell and Williams in their blowout win over the New York Giants this past Monday, but make no mistake about it: they will absolutely need both players healthy if they plan on making a deep playoff run.
Amazingly enough, New England has not won a playoff game since it won its last Super Bowl back in February 2019. The Pats have also not made the postseason in four years.
The Patriots have their bye this week.