The Patriots are readying for their season opener vs. the Raiders at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, and the good news pre-game is that LT Will Campbell (questionable, ankle) is officially active.

New England's game-day inactives are CB Christian Gonzalez (hamstring), CB Charles Woods (groin), OLB Anfernee Jennings, WR Efton Chism III, G Caedan Wallace, DT Eric Gregory, and QB Tommy DeVito is the emergency third quarterback. The Raiders inactives are S Tristin McCollum, RB Raheem Mostert, OLB Brennan Jackson, OT Charles Grant, G Caleb Rogers, DT J.J. Pegues, and DT Leki Fotu.

Earlier this week, Campbell first appeared on the injury report on Thursday with a new ankle injury. During an open locker room session on Friday, the fourth-overall pick was spotted with a compression sleeve over his left ankle and was walking without a noticeable limp. Despite carrying a questionable designation after being limited in the team's final two practices this week, Campbell is officially active and the rookie projects to make his regular-season debut protecting QB Drake Maye's blindside in Sunday's opener vs. the Raiders.

Although he's active for Sunday's game, Campbell's effectiveness will be worth monitoring as he plays through an ankle injury. As is the case with all players, Week 1 is the first time any player has played a full four quarters of football since last season. During the preseason, Campbell only played 29 snaps, split between the first two exhibition games. Like the rest of the starters, we could see more rotating than usual as workloads increase, testing in-game conditioning, so some starters on the offensive line could platoon in Week 1.

According to head coach Mike Vrabel, rookie Jared Wilson will start for the Patriots at left guard. With Campbell active, that suggests New England will have an all-rookie left side of the offensive line. The Pats reworked offensive line, which features four new projected starters, will be tested by four-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby and the Raiders defensive line. Crosby is a terrific all-around talent, while EDGE Malcolm Koonce is also disruptive on the other side. However, after releasing standout DT Christian Wilkins earlier this offseason, the Raiders interior defensive line is vulnerable. As a result, one would expect the Patriots to test Vegas's run defense, especially in what are expected to be rainy conditions.

Based on recent practices and Vrabel's confirmation that Wilson will start, the Patriots projected offensive line in front of Maye is LT Will Campbell, LG Jared Wilson, C Garrett Bradbury, RG Mike Onwenu, and RT Morgan Moses. If the Patriots call on their backups, rookie Marcus Bryant was the top swing tackle for most of the summer, while fourth-year pro Vederian Lowe started 13 games at left tackle in 2024. Third-year C/G Ben Brown is likely the top backup on the interior. Along with the offensive line, here's Maye's projected supporting cast vs. the Raiders on Sunday:

OL - LT Campbell, LG Wilson, C Bradbury, RG Onwenu, RT Moses
WR - Stefon Diggs, DeMario Douglas, Kayshon Boutte, Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams
RB - Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyon Henderson, Antonio Gibson
TE/FB - Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper, Jack Westover (FB)

As for the Patriots inactives, there's a notable trickle-down effect of not having top CB Christian Gonzalez. Gonzalez, who hasn't practiced since July 28 due to his hamstring injury, leaves a significant void at outside corner. According to Vrabel, New England's top three corners will be free-agent addition Carlton Davis, captain Marcus Jones, and third-year pro Alex Austin. The interesting game-plan wrinkle in Sunday's matchup will be if Austin or Davis is tasked with covering Raiders star TE Brock Bowers. Bowers was an All-Pro in his first season after setting an NFL rookie record with 112 receptions in 2024. The Raiders tight end moves like a wide receiver, with excellent change of direction skills and dynamic play speed, making him a mismatch against linebackers and safeties.

If the Patriots put a corner on Bowers on passing downs, a fourth corner, such as camp-riser D.J. James, will need to play on the outside vs. three-receiver sets. Vegas's two best third-down chain-movers are Bowers and old friend Jakobi Meyers, who both run routes on the inside. As their second-best option, whoever isn't on Bowers between Austin and Davis will likely cover Meyers, while Jones will likely match up against speed-slot Tre Tucker, leaving James on the outside against big-bodied rookie Dont'e Thornton in an under-the-radar matchup to watch.

After earning a spot on the initial 53-man roster this summer, rookie WR Efton Chism III is among the inactives for the Patriots. Chism has been nursing a knee injury that landed him on the injury report this week, but his game-day role was likely to be limited, if active, regardless. Chism is behind top slot WR DeMario Douglas on the wide receiver depth chart, while Diggs, Hollins, and Williams also run routes from the inside. The logjam at inside receiver, coupled with the fact that Chism is a backup returner and doesn't cover kicks on special teams, made a game-day role murky for the Eastern Washington product. The undrafted rookie's time will come, but his NFL debut will have to wait at least another week.

Along with Chism, Jennings is another mild surprise as a game-day inactive. The veteran edge-setter was playing deep into the second half of preseason games while he was involved in trade rumors, so it's not a complete shock, but Jennings played himself onto the initial roster with a strong summer. The Patriots available edge rushers for Sunday's game are captain Harold Landry, K'Lavon Chaisson, Keion White, and undrafted rookie Elijah Ponder.

On Sunday, the Patriots begin the head coach Mike Vrabel era after months of anticipation. When the team hired Vrabel in January, the hope was that he'd re-establish a winning culture and bring an in-game coaching edge back to New England as he did in Tennessee. Following a lengthy lead-up through filling out his coaching staff, free agency, the draft, spring practices, training camp, and the preseason, it's finally time to see the Patriots in Vrabel's vision.

The Patriots kick off the 2025 season vs. the Las Vegas Raiders at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer