The Patriots are getting some reinforcements for Sunday.
Both defensive tackle Milton Williams and left tackle Will Campbell have been activated off of injured reserve and are eligible to play in New England’s regular-season finale against the Dolphins.
How much they play, after having missed weeks of action, is yet to be seen. But to have them available — two of their most important pieces on either side of the line of scrimmage — is a welcome sight for Mike Vrabel and his team as they vie for seeding with one week left before the playoffs begin.
Williams has been out since suffering an ankle injury against the Jets on Thursday Night Football in Week 11. Williams looked like one of the team’s best offseason additions until his injury, racking up 32 pressures and 3.5 sacks in 10 games.
Since going out, the Patriots have had one of the least-efficient run defenses in the NFL, allowing 5.0 yards per carry (fourth-worst in the NFL) and 145.7 yards per game (also fourth-worst) since Week 11.
Williams was asked this week if he’d like to see regular work against the Dolphins so that he felt ready to handle the speed of the game when the postseason starts.
“Playing in the NFL, the speed is the same,” he said. “But in the playoffs, just the margin of error is really, really, really small compared to the regular season. Speed of the game is still the same. It’s still football. And football shape is still different. To get into football shape, you gotta go out there to practice and play. I look forward to doing that.”
Campbell is primed to return after spending the league-mandated minimum number of weeks on IR. He suffered an MCL sprain, per Sports Illustrated, in Cincinnati in Week 12. After missing four weeks, he has returned to practice and now appears set to retake his role as the starter protecting Drake Maye’s blind side.
“First time ever I’ve had to sit out of a game because of an injury,” Campbell told reporters this week. “In my entire life. Obviously isn’t fun, but it’s a part of this game. Just tried to attack the rehab process and get better.”
Vederian Lowe filled in at left tackle in Campbell’s absence, allowing just one sack in 151 pass-blocking snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
“It’s awesome to see Big Willy back out there,” Maye said. “I’m glad. I just want to appreciate V-Lowe for what he did. Credit to V-Lowe, stepping in, stepping up, not blinking at all, just trusting in his work, his preparation. V-Lowe did a great job for us, and you never know what happens with V-Lowe. Probably, maybe, going to need him again.
“That’s just the next man up, and those guys up front have done a great job all year of stepping up when they’re in there, blocking their butts off. I’m looking forward to having Big Willy back out there and looking forward to seeing him get back to doing what he does best.”
A win for the Patriots on Sunday coupled with a Broncos loss would give New England the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Should the Broncos and Patriots win, Vrabel and Co. would be locked into the No. 2 seed. The Patriots can fall as far as the No. 3 seed if they lose to the Dolphins and the Jaguars beat the Titans.
