FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots starting left tackle Will Campbell was placed on injured reserve Wednesday due to a right knee injury and will miss at least the next four games.
That means the earliest Campbell could return is the regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 3-4, but the 10-2 Patriots -- with the best record in the AFC -- also hope to be in the playoffs after that.
Vrabel also said starting left guard Jared Wilson (right ankle) will miss Monday's home game against the New York Giants (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Both Campbell and Wilson were carted off during Sunday's 26-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, and players were bracing for the worst-case scenario of a season-ending injury for Campbell. They felt fortunate that wasn't the case.
"It's a blessing because it looked really bad," starting center Garrett Bradbury said. "He hasn't dealt with a whole lot of injury adversity. Me and Morgan [Moses] have kind of been in his ear about things he can do in the time being to get back faster and mentally to stay in it. It's going to happen -- it's the NFL, injury rate is 100 percent -- and he can come back from this better."
Four-year veteran Vederian Lowe (21 career starts) is expected to start in Campbell's place at left tackle, according to coach Mike Vrabel, while four-year veteran Ben Brown (10 career starts) is next on the depth chart at left guard.
"Coach Vrabel always tells us to take advantage of the opportunities you are given. He preaches that. He preaches to prepare like you're a starter, so I think that's always in the back of guys' minds," Bradbury said. "It's a good opportunity for the guys filling in. I'm excited to play with those guys. We have all the confidence, and I put a little more emphasis on communication. It doesn't matter who's in there, if I can get all five guys on the same page, then we have the plays, players and coaches to make it work."
The Patriots had started the same offensive line in 11 of their first 12 games. The team has its bye week after Monday's game against the Giants then hosts the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 14 in a game that could have significant ramifications on the AFC East standings.
New England then plays back-to-back road games against the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets before the regular-season finale at home against the Dolphins.