Patriots Sack Leader Eyes Injury Return for Super Bowl LX

Despite appearing in only two of the New England Patriots’ last five games, linebacker Harold Landry III remains hopeful for playing in Super Bowl LX.

Landry, who has been battling a knee injury since Week 13, expressed a degree of optimism regarding his playing status when speaking to the media during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX at San Jose Convention Center. Needless to say, Landry believes himself to be ready for the Patriots’ showdown with the Seattle Seahawaks at Levi’s Stadium on Feb. 8.

“We’ll see how the week goes but yeah, I would anticipate that,” Landry said, as shared by ESPN’s Mike Reiss.

Though he has yet to earn full participant status in practice in nearly two months, Landry has been a productive fit within Vrabel's defensive scheme in New England. The former Tennessee Titan fit the mold of a smaller, athletic linebacker, capable of relentlessly pursuing the quarterback. Combined with his history of playing within Vrabel's defensive system, it came as little surprise when Landry signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract with the Pats this past offseason.

Through 15 games played in the regular season, Landry compiled 27 solo tackles, one forced fumble and a team-leading 8.5 sacks. He earned two total tackles in the Pats' wild card round victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. He added two tackles against the Houston Texans in the divisional round. Landry did not play in the conference championship game against the Denver Broncos.

Patriots Also Hopeful for the Return of LB Robert Spillane

Feb 2, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; New England Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane (14) speaks to the media during Opening Night for Super Bowl LX at San Jose Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In addition to Landry, Patriots fellow linebacker and team captain Robert Spillane also missed his second straight practice of pre-Super Bowl week due to an ankle injury. Spillane led the team with 97 tackles in the regular season. He also compiled five passes-defensed, two interceptions, one sack and a forced fumble. He has also logged 14 total tackles and two pass-breakups, to date, in the playoffs. Like Landry, the veteran defender also appears optimistic in his playing status for the big game.

"We're recovering, getting better every day," Spillane told reporters at Super Bowl Opening Night. "We're on the right track. We're where we need to be and the goal is to obviously go out there and be dominant."

As expected, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was not as committal in his message to the media last week, shortly before the team traveled to the Bay Area.

"I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that they didn't practice today," Vrabel told reporters during his press conference broadcast on Patriots.com. "I don't know what's going to happen nine days from now or however many days that is."

Both Landry and Spillane have helped to lead a top-tier Patriots’ defense, ranking fourth in points allowed (18.8 per game) and eighth in total yards allowed (295.2 per game) during the regular season. With a stellar performance from their prized free-agent acquisition, the unit was particulary strong in run defense, allowing just 79.2 rushing yards per game — finishing atop the NFL in said category.

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