Pats Pulpit
The stage had already been set, but on Sunday it finally became official. On the eve of their regular season finale against the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots activated offensive tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams to their 53-man roster. Both had spent the last few weeks on injured reserve.
With the two now back in the mix, let’s assess what the moves mean for the Patriots.
Blindside protector is back: The Patriots invested the fourth overall selection in this year’s draft in Will Campbell, and he immediately was inserted at the left tackle spot. The rookie has not looked back since, and despite the occasional teachable moment has provided a high quality of play as quarterback Drake Maye’s blindside protector before hurting his knee in Week 12 against Cincinnati. To his credit, backup Vederian Lowe also played decently in his four games filling in for Campbell, but the youngster’s upside and athletic ability simply trumps what the more experienced Lowe has to offer. The Patriots are better with him in the lineup.
Starting-5 almost back together again: Campbell returning puts New England one step closer to finally fielding its regular starting offensive line again. However, that will not yet happen against the Dolphins: left guard Jared Wilson remains in concussion protocol and has been ruled out for Sunday; in his place, Ben Brown will make his fourth start of the season and second playing next to Campbell.
Getting the feet wet: Campbell returned to practice on Wednesday, and was a participant for all three sessions this week plus Saturday’s walkthrough. Passing all the appropriate checks along the way, he has now been cleared for a return to game action — something that is expected to take place versus Miami. This, in turn, gives the young lineman a chance to get some live game reps in before the Patriots’ first playoff game the following weekend or, less likely, the weekend after. That, of course, is also true for Milton Williams.
Game day shuffle: With Campbell back on the 53-man roster, the Patriots now have five offensive tackles on their active team. They will not be able to make all of them active for game day, however. Campbell, of course, is a game day lock, as is right-side starter Morgan Moses. The spots behind them belong to the aforementioned Vederian Lowe and, based on the last few weeks, Thayer Munford Jr. However, with only so many spots available, the latter might be on the fringe and could possibly join Marcus Bryant on the list of healthy scratches depending on the situation. That said, it would not be a surprise if New England played it safe against Miami and went with four OTs.
Improved defensive tackle depth: New England’s interior defensive line struggled with personnel stability over the last few weeks, which makes Williams’ return all the more important. With him back in...
