Understanding Harold Landry's Medical Situation: What Can The Patriots Expect?
Heading into the 2025 season, the New England Patriots were bold in free agency spending. One of the crown jewels of their offseason haul was star pass rusher Harold Landry.
Landry, who was part of head coach Mike Vrabel's first ever draft class when Vrabel coached the Tennessee Titans, dominated early in the season. Through his first six games, he netted 25 pressures and five sacks, seemingly dominating as expected.
However, in a Week 6 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, Landry suffered a knee injury. Since that point, Landry's productivity tanked, essentially matching his numbers from the first six weeks through his remaining 12 appearances. Of note, the injury was aggravated in the team's Week 12 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
With training camp around the corner, updates on Landry have been sparse through the offseason with his status being uncertain. He did not participated in spring practices with the Patriots and reportedly underwent a knee surgery during the offseason.
Nothing is really known about the injury, the surgery, or any prognostic indication on Landry's status.
So based on what we do know, what should we expect from Landry this summer/fall?
Reviewing Landry's Injury:
Defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga falls on the inside (medial aspect) of Landry's knee, causing an outward buckling. Medically, this is known as a "varus" mechanism of injury. There is also a slight rotational component to this injury, as Landry's upper body turns more upfield while his lower leg is planted pointing towards the sideline.
#Patriots OLB Harold Landry suffered a leg injury but was able to walk off under his own power.
- Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) October 12, 2025
New England is already very thin on the edge - hopefully Landry is okay. pic.twitter.com/suodijAbjq
The anatomic structures at greatest risk from a varus mechanism are particularly important.
The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) is the primary outward stabilizer of the knee, which is obviously important for an edge rusher who has made a career off his bend. The posterolateral corner complex (PLC) includes multiple tendons and ligaments that often accompany LCL injury. These can complicate an injury course.
In addition, the slight rotation may contribute to a lateral meniscus injury. The lateral meniscus is an important shock absorber and provides joint stability.
The mechanism of this injury may include involvement of all three to some degree, particularly the LCL and lateral meniscus. The fact that he walked off on his own and played subsequent games seems to indicate more of a a moderate injury grade.
As such, overall it seems most likely that Landry suffered a moderate grade II LCL/PLC sprain (partial tear) with an included lateral meniscal tear.
We feel this is most likely since Landry was able to play for much of the season on this injury, though it clearly bothered him. While research has shown that in isolated (i.e. no other ligaments) severe grade III LCL tears, players are able to return during the season without surgery. However, LCL tears rarely occur on their own, with a moderate sprain of multiple components being more probable.
What Surgery Did Landry Get?
We know a few key facts. Landry was able to play through most of the regular season and playoffs, precluding a severe multi-ligament injury. We know that he received surgery some time soon after the Super Bowl.
However, what we don't know is when the team has been aiming for Landry to return. In June, Vrabel said "We'll just keep working to make sure that he's ready to go when we need him," keeping his timeline uncertain. It is still unclear if he is working to return by training camp or the season opener.
Given his suspected injury classification and severity, it is more reasonable to anticipate the former.
Landry may have undergone an arthroscopic lateral meniscus repair, which has a four to six month rehab window. This would be consistent with the timeline and injury presentation we know thus far.
While an arthroscopic procedure itself is not a big surgery, a lateral meniscus procedure does involve some level of stabilization changes at the joint. The four to six month timeline would, therefore, leave him with adequate time to focus on restrengthening and restabilizing his knee joint. Should he have an concomitant grade I-II LCL/PCL injury, which is likely, this would allow for an appropriate nonoperative management.
If Landry did have a true grade III LCL/PLC tear, this would require a formal reconstructive procedure that would translate into a six to nine month recovery window.
While Vrabel's language on Landry does not rule this out, it feels like a less probable overall picture given Landry's availability for much of the 2025 season. If this were the case, though unlikely, Landry could miss games well into the first quarter of the regular season.
Bottom Line:
Once more, it's worth highlighting how little information has been publicized about Landry's injury or timeline. As a result, this analysis is subject to evolve as more information comes out. However, as it stands, it is a reasonable estimate to see Landry to stay sidelined or limited for the initial few training camp practices with the expectation that he suits up by Week 1 of the regular season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/patriots/onsi as Understanding Harold Landry's Medical Situation: What Can The Patriots Expect?.
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This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 4:00 AM.