Pressure is going to be on Caleb Lomu following Campbell’s injury

Despite the many positives drawn from New England’s 45-17 blowout win over the Raiders, the Patriots took a major hit when starting left tackle Will Campbell suffered an apparent knee injury in the second quarter.

While he walked off the field on his own power, Campbell is expected to be temporarily sidelined. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the second-year pro suffered a knee sprain and will likely miss “some time” this season.

Speaking to reporters Monday at Gillette Stadium, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said the team is still evaluating just how much time Campbell might miss moving forward.

“We’ll see how the week goes,” Vrabel said of Campbell. “It’ll get looked at and continue to rehab. Wasn’t able to finish the game, so I mean, I don’t know how much time he’ll miss, if he’ll ​​be back towards the end of the week, if he’ll be back Wednesday. But we’ll take it day by day and see how he feels tomorrow. See what he does Wednesday and keep you updated on the injury report.”

While Campbell may not be on the shelf for the entire season, another knee injury for the talented tackle — and the middling results he put forth last year when he came back for the playoffs while on a torn MCL — should prompt New England to give him as much time as he needs to get right.

That means rookie Caleb Lomu — New England’s first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft — could be looking at a featured role protecting Drake Maye’s blindside for the foreseeable future.

The Patriots’ decision to trade up to select Lomu (28th overall) in the 2026 Draft feels prudent, especially given the injuries that have sapped New England’s offensive-line personnel through the first month-plus of a new football season.

Even with expected rookie growing pains during training camp and preseason, the 21-year-old Lomu performed admirably on Sunday in relief of Campbell.

According to PFF, Lomu logged 29 pass-blocking snaps against the Raiders on Sunday. Over that stretch, he recorded:

• 0 sacks
• 0 QB hits
• 1 hurry
• 1 total pressure
• 98.0 pass-block efficiency

“I don’t think it was too big for him,” Vrabel said Monday of Lomu’s play against Las Vegas. “I think he was able to settle down. You didn’t really notice him a lot, so I think that’s probably a good thing. He was able to anchor at times on some power and allowed Drake [Maye] to be able to transfer up into the pocket.

“I thought it worked together well with AVT [Alijah Vera-Tucker] when he got in there. Those are going to be some things that, whatever combinations of guys that we have, whether it’s Ben [Brown] and Jared [Wilson], or it’s Ben and Morgan [Moses] or Ben and Caleb, just being able to work together with the guy next to you and then try to help each other do their job.”

Shifting Lomu back to left tackle — the position he played at Utah — might make it easier for the rookie to settle into a consistent role, even though New England likely selected him as a long-term replacement for starting right tackle Morgan Moses.

​Still, Lomu could be in line for some daunting matchups in the coming weeks, including against the Jets (and rookie standout edge rusher David Bailey) on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

With more starting reps expected for the rookie tackle moving forward, Moses believes that Lomu will be up to the task with Campbell on the mend.

“He’s confident. That’s the most important thing,” Moses said of Lomu. “You never know when your number is going to be called, and obviously he’s been able to get some snaps at the big tight end spots, so he’s been able to get used to the speed, from preseason into the regular season.

“That’s always good. But he works hard. … He came in, and obviously we got to look at the film, because there are some things we’ve all got to correct. But I think he did a hell of a job.”

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.