Patriots Injury News Campbell Says He's Been Playing with a Torn Ligament in His Knee

I recommend watching this breakdown video of some of the plays and what was happening.

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The line was brutal, which led Maye, who wasn’t playing near 100%, to speed up his clock which led to missed throws and reads. Add in a bad game plan and we got the worse game of the season for the offence.

I was on the move Campbell to guard train after the game, but after learning he was playing on a torn ligament, and also listening to players and player personal people speaking on how he can improve, I’m now on the let him develop train. He needs to get in the weight room and build up his core strength. That’s a must, turn some of that baby fat to muscle. We will need to bring in a guard and a RT to build up the line.

Sam Bam Cunningham said:

It was up to Vrabel and Marrone to tell him to sit

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It’s mostly on Marrone. Vrabel has to depend on what his staff tells him. They both should review what the doctors say about the MRI but Marrone is the onevtonsay how it will affect Will’s play.

Joey007 said:

I get you don’t want to shoot the kids confidence long term.. but this is still the Super Bowl

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Sitting him because he’s injured shouldn’t affect his confidence.

They probably should have left him on IR and never returned him to the roster for the playoffs.

Betterthanmost said:

Hmmm, not sure how to take this, I have several thoughts running:
Who made the call to play him?

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That’s easy. Buck stops with the HC. He gets advice from his OC and OL coach.

Betterthanmost said:

Are players running the show?

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No. Why do you think that’s even a question?

Betterthanmost said:

Which medical professionals signed off on this?

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Medical professionals that signed off on it get paychecks signed by the team.
That’s a known issue that the PA needs to address in the CBA. Players should be (may already be, I’ve not read the current CBA) able to seek independent medical advice.
But ultimately the decision will be made by the player and his coaches. Neurotrauma is an exception, due to league rules.
Doctors will evaluate injury details, consequences, prognosis for recovery and re-injury or additional damage.
Coaches will evaluate the doctors reports, consider effect on player performance and future health, and decide how to handle based on all that.

Betterthanmost said:

Is Lowe that bad that a one leg Campbell will be preferred?
Why did we have backup LTs ?
They saw that the left side was struggling, Maye did not trust the left side and they kept at this?
Why? Or the answer is just because of why?

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Everyone involved is subjective. Campbell wants to play. Everyone involved wants to deliver good news, the best, whatever that is.
In the end it’s about earning their paychecks.
Campbell’s paycheck is bigger than Lowe’s or the other backup LTs (Munford et al).

NFL Mystique said:

You never want an owner involved. But... couldn't Kraft just say "Mike if a guy is that badly injured, please put in the backup." It will never happen.

But that is a concern with Vrabel. Loyalty to a fault. It's the complete opposite of Bill. Who would have benched Campbell and questioned McDaniels throughout the game.

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You rightly say you don’t want an owner micromanaging coaches.

But then you say you really do…

Owner will never know details of a player injury as much as his HC does. He has to trust his HC knows when to play the backup.

HC has to consider doctors reports, his OC and position coaches. They can all distort his view of the picture. That’s bad enough, suggesting the owner should ever get into it too just makes it infinitely worse.

AQPE said:

A lot of people seem to be missing an important part of the story here with Lowe. I agree he was fine against the Jets, Dolphins, Ravens, less so maybe in the second half against the Bills That doesn’t mean he was going to be better than an injured Campbell in the playoffs going against much higher level competition. Lowe is a complete mediocrity, maybe better under Marrone but still not great

I don’t believe for one second that Vrabel, McDaniels, and Marrone purposely handicapped the team because they felt sorry for Campbell or didn’t want that look regarding the 4th overall pick. That’s ragtime conspiracy crap for which Vrabel has provided zero (0) evidence.

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It was not on purpose.

But the entire coaching staff blew it big time on this one. With 20-20 hindsight Campbell should have stayed on IR.

As badly as Campbell played that bull rush on the first play Lowe couldn’t have been any worse. He didn’t have to be great to be better than that one-legged T Rex Will Campbell. Nothing against Campbell, he was unable to perform because of injury. The coaches did not deal with that very well at all.

rochrist said:

Then you should blame Vrabel one hundred percent.

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No, need to include Josh and Marrone. And possibly the doctors.

Vrabel’s decisions depend on what he’s told.

Yawn

Huckleberry1 said:

I'm in the sign Tyler Lindebaum camp, then draft a guard

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So, totally giving up on Wilson.

yukon cornelius said:

i'm wondering, considering the way it went down, if he tore it more/re-injured it during the superbowl - he had a solid game at Denver, probably got all the reps or most of the reps headed into the game, and they just felt a prepared but injured WC was a better option than lowe once the game got going.....

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Or in practice. Or maybe that bull rush on the first play overloaded it. But as easily as he was pushed back on that play it seems he was already unable to perform physically.

p8ryts said:

I don't know what Bryant really is. He faded out of sight and never really contributed. He wasn't counted on as the extra lineman at all and didn't challenge Lowe. What is his trajectory?

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I’m curious to see how Bryant looks in camp. He seemed to flash in preseason last year then got lost in a logjam of backups especially after they picked up Munford. He’s still young and may benefit from a year in the system and offseason training.

n1997y said:

It was not on purpose.

But the entire coaching staff blew it big time on this one. With 20-20 hindsight Campbell should have stayed on IR.

As badly as Campbell played that bull rush on the first play Lowe couldn’t have been any worse. He didn’t have to be great to be better than that one-legged T Rex Will Campbell. Nothing against Campbell, he was unable to perform because of injury. The coaches did not deal with that very well at all.

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They were too scared of losing continuity and just stuck on hoping it improves. It did not. I expect them to be wiser next season.

Till the super bowl, whatever they touched turned to hold, but on the final D day we fell flat and were humiliated.

Any competitive person knows how it feels when you are thrashed on game day and there isn't even a chance and you were at your worst . You work maniacally during next season or next game to improve.

I am sure Maye and Campbell will feel that along with Wilson. The three biggest culprits.

Josh should have got a rude awakening on being out coached and humiliated on a never before level. I am sure he now knows the difference between Brady and Maye and will make suitable adjustments .

As for Vrabel I think he will mellow down slightly from a players coach and reconsider when to play and when to bench players for their own good and teams good.

And wolf and cowden have their task cut out. Need to figure out how to build into the foundation.

Needs - LG, DE 1 and 2, backup RT, slot WR, linebacker who can cover edges, backup corner, safety 1, TE 1 and 2.

Now which of these do we get from the draft and which do we get from FA.

I just feel draft should be used for building talent with very high ceiling who can be back ups for 2026 and stud contributors in 2027 . Build pipeline to replace all ageing veterans for whom 2026 is possibly the last year.

Potential last season with pats - Mac hollins, landry, Carlton davis, morgan Moses, Henry, diggs , onwenu ( maybe), Spillane, rham .

Boomer B said:

I recommend watching this breakdown video of some of the plays and what was happening.

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The line was brutal, which led Maye, who wasn’t playing near 100%, to speed up his clock which led to missed throws and reads. Add in a bad game plan and we got the worse game of the season for the offence.

I was on the move Campbell to guard train after the game, but after learning he was playing on a torn ligament, and also listening to players and player personal people speaking on how he can improve, I’m now on the let him develop train. He needs to get in the weight room and build up his core strength. That’s a must, turn some of that baby fat to muscle. We will need to bring in a guard and a RT to build up the line.

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Generally agree. Not sure about the highlighted part though.

We may already have a solution for RT among Bryant, Lowe, Munford, Wallace, Durant, or Metz. Unlikely for the last three, and if Moses is back next year it’s not yet urgent, it’s another year to develop one of them or a new acquisition.

Guard we can have Brown or Jaimes ready to step up, if Wilson displaces Bradbury as center. Or maybe even ready to displace Wilson at guard.

We should be looking for potential upgrades, but we need to remember that our own roster can be a source of upgrades too. Just because a player wasn’t good enough to crack the starting lineup this year doesn’t mean they haven’t improved in the meantime. That’s why dismissing Lowe this year because of how he played last year with an injury and inferior coaching isn’t a good idea, for example. For another, we are unlikely to re-sign Lowe not because he’s not good enough, but rather because he’s too good for other teams not to outbid us.

Looks like he may have come off IR when he shouldn't have...hindsight is 20/20 blah blah blah. He had an MCL injury which isn't nearly as bad as an ACL...Back in another lifetime, my MCL got the same treatment in the Orange and Black game my H.S had. It had to be the single most painful thing I have experienced yet. My knee swelled to the size of a basketball and stayed that way for weeks even with ice. I was off that knee for 10 weeks minus doing rehab during. I am sure things have changed with physical therapy etc. but he could very well have gotten the go ahead to play when he shouldn't have.

I'm on the train that we should keep him at LT. He just turned 22, and could have a final growth spurt so that extra arm length could happen (for those that say he need's it) and will more than likely add weight and strength this OS. I'd bet that he knows he needs to do so with how he got manhandled/rag dolled/embarrassed multiple times during the SB. Him whiffing some blocks happens to everyone just about and can be cleaned up. What I want to see is them pick up Lindenbaum and draft the usual few OL....

Toofy said:

Potential last season with pats - Mac hollins, landry, Carlton davis, morgan Moses, Henry, diggs , onwenu ( maybe), Spillane, rham .

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I think the ones I’ve highlighted are likely to stay, or to leave of their own choice not because the team kicks them to the curb. Moses may retire.

Landry needs to show he can recover fully from his injury.

Henry I can see going either way. I think he sticks for the last year of his contract, but he showed some inconsistency this year.

I also think we will see Chaisson and Tonga sticking around, unless some other team simply outbids us by a lot.

Munford is UFA that I expect to re-sign. Lowe is likely to be signed by some other team that outbids the Pats although I’d expect the Patriots will want to keep him.

Rob0729 said:

Then why didn't they at least try to see if Vederian Lowe could have done better? Lowe did a more than adequate job filling in for Campbell. Why put a less than 100% Campbell out there when they might have gotten more production from Lowe.

If this is the case, I blame Vrabel, McDaniels, and Maronne for the o-line disaster.

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I’d been saying that ever since the two of them returned during the regular season and performed lesser than Lowe and Brown in their stints.

n1997y said:

So, totally giving up on Wilson.

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Not at all, Wilson is playing guard. Unlike many here I think these kids deserve the time to develop. Campbell and Wilson both won starting jobs and became the first two rookies to start on the left side for a Super Bowl team. But I'm fine with them drafting a guard to compete for a spot in the interior with a day 2 pick. Lindebaum is an All Pro caliber center with insane athleticism, I would love to see him in front of Maye for the next 10 years.

Huckleberry1 said:

Not at all, Wilson is playing guard. Unlike many here I think these kids deserve the time to develop. Campbell and Wilson both won starting jobs and became the first two rookies to start on the left side for a Super Bowl team. But I'm fine with them drafting a guard to compete for a spot in the interior with a day 2 pick. Lindebaum is an All Pro caliber center with insane athleticism, I would love to see him in front of Maye for the next 10 years.

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Ok, I was thinking we’d have no need for looking to draft a guard if Wilson doesn’t move to center, unless he and Brown are viewed as not good enough to be the answer there.

We need to keep stocking the pipeline no matter what, so I don’t really think of calling those draft picks out explicitly. We’ve already got Wallace, Jaimes, Butler, and Rupcich in the pipeline as well.

n1997y said:

I think the ones I’ve highlighted are likely to stay, or to leave of their own choice not because the team kicks them to the curb. Moses may retire.

Landry needs to show he can recover fully from his injury.

Henry I can see going either way. I think he sticks for the last year of his contract, but he showed some inconsistency this year.

I also think we will see Chaisson and Tonga sticking around, unless some other team simply outbids us by a lot.

Munford is UFA t

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I am talking about 2027. 2026 these players will be there but I don't think they will be beyond that . Each year you have a 33+ year old , you lose development opportunity. After 2027 you need to pay Maye and other bills . So better to go young and build the base for the next 3-4 years.

Vets need to be phased out by 2027 and we need our rookies to come of age in 2027 i.e. Our 2025 and 2026 rookies.

So 2026 drafts should be replacements for these players.

Toofy said:

I am talking about 2027. 2026 these players will be there but I don't think they will be beyond that . Each year you have a 33+ year old , you lose development opportunity. After 2027 you need to pay Maye and other bills . So better to go young and build the base for the next 3-4 years.

Vets need to be phased out by 2027 and we need our rookies to come of age in 2027 i.e. Our 2025 and 2026 rookies.

So 2026 drafts should be replacements for these players.

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Generally I agree, although I’d really like to see almost all rookies redshirted for their first year and then getting rotation and spot starts in their second year before competing for starting spots in their third year. After that third year it’s time to decide about extending them, and how much to invest in that. Exceptions would be truly elite rookies, unlikely to be available by the time a really good team drafts.

Draft position is why I think the extra development year is needed. A really good team needs to evaluate draft prospects a little differently, because the choices still available when they draft will have been thoroughly picked over. That means that the team needs to looks more for talent and potential and less for accomplishments. Planning for the extra year of development allows them to consider prospects who are still raw and needing more development. We should be looking to draft more for future needs, a couple of years out, than for immediate needs.

Thankfully even our most apparent OL flaws may be much better next year just with talent already in the locker room. A full year in the program for our rookies and new acquisitions will give a lot of improvement. We have a lot of very young players.