The Patriots have largely dodged the injury bug this season-until now. For most of 2025, New England managed to stay relatively healthy while other teams around the league saw key players go down.
But that good fortune took a hit recently with the losses of starting left tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams. Those are significant blows on both sides of the ball, and the timing couldn’t be worse.
As the Patriots prepare for a high-stakes primetime clash with the Ravens, the injury report has become a central storyline. Several starters-particularly on defense-have either missed practice or been limited throughout the week. Coming off a second-half collapse against the Bills, the concern was real: could New England afford to be without key defensive contributors against one of the most dynamic offenses in the league?
Depth is already a concern for this Patriots roster. So when a handful of starters were absent from Thursday’s practice, alarms went off. The margin for error is razor-thin for a team still jockeying for playoff position, and missing key pieces against Baltimore could’ve made that hill even steeper.
But there’s reason for optimism. Despite the growing list of names on the injury report, the Patriots made no moves to elevate players from the practice squad ahead of Sunday’s game.
That’s a telling sign. It strongly suggests that most-if not all-of the players listed as questionable, including defensive tackle Christian Barmore, cornerback Marcus Jones, and linebacker Harold Landry, are expected to suit up.
That decision not to elevate anyone marks just the second time all season New England has stood pat with its active roster heading into a game. The only other instance came back in Week 5 against Buffalo. In a league where roster flexibility is often the name of the game, that kind of confidence in the health of your starters is notable-especially this late in the season.
While the Patriots don’t need a win over Baltimore to maintain their current positioning atop the AFC East and as the No. 2 seed in the conference, it’s a game that carries weight. Staying one game ahead of Buffalo-who now owns a head-to-head split with New England-would give the Patriots some much-needed breathing room heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
More than that, it’s a chance for New England to make a statement. Beating a Ravens team led by an MVP-caliber quarterback and one of the all-time great running backs would send a clear message: the Patriots can hang with the AFC’s elite. That kind of win would go a long way in erasing the sour taste left by last week’s second-half unraveling against the Bills.
And with most of their top players expected to be on the field, the Patriots are in a better position than many thought just a few days ago. Now it’s about execution.
The pieces are there-at least for now. Let’s see if New England can put them together when it matters most.