Patriots Rookie Will Campbell Carted Off Mid-Game After Knee Injury

New England Patriots rookie Will Campbell abruptly left the team’s Sunday, November 23, game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Left tackle Campbell, 21, sustained a knee injury during the game and subsequently needed to be carted off the field.

“It looked to be [his] right knee that was injured,” an announcer said during the TV broadcast.

The official Patriots X page later reported that Campbell was “questionable to return,” and was later ruled “out” for the remainder of the game.

During Sunday’s matchup, Campbell’s teammate Jared Wilson was also carted off the field. The two athletes were replaced with Vederian Lowe and Ben Brown.

Campbell, for his part, is in the middle of his first year in the NFL. He signed with the Patriots during the 2025 NFL Draft.

“Blessed is an understatement,” he wrote via Instagram in April.

Campbell, who previously played football at Louisiana State University, was selected by the Patriots in the first round.

“I was sitting there, antsy, waiting on it,” he told the team in an interview at the time. “I had a feeling it was coming. I was just super thankful. I worked really hard to put myself in the best position possible [and] have the opportunity like I had last night. For me to be able to represent an organization such as the Patriots, which has so much history and tradition and championships. It’s everything I could ever ask for.”

Campbell further promised to “do everything in [his] power” to help the Patriots clinch victories on the gridiron.

“I want to excel in everything,” he concluded. “I just want to grow my game from every aspect. I’m super excited to get to work.”

As Campbell started training with the Patriots, he kept trying to work hard and improve his athletic skills.

“I’ve just tried to get better at it every single day,” he told reporters in a September locker room interview. “The players that I’m going against now are a lot more talented than what I went against in college. [I’m] just trying to go to practice every day and work on something now and try to get better.”

Campbell also acknowledged how different the NFL is to his collegiate experience.

“The NFL is a completely different ball game, it doesn’t really matter what conference,” he said. “It really just comes down to preparation and also reps. I mean, we’re obviously still learning. The more battle wounds we get, the better it’ll make us in the long run.”

Campbell’s life also, of course, extends well beyond football games.

“Whenever I leave the facility, [there isn’t] much going on in Foxborough, so I just nap or call my family and stuff like that. I really just kind of lay low,” the Louisiana native recalled. “[When I go back home,] I go hunting or something like that. I’ve killed a few things [like] deer, gators, hogs, all types of stuff.”

After Campbell’s injury, the Patriots narrowly beat the Bengals 26-20. It’s not yet known whether the athlete will return for next week’s matchup against the New York Giants.