After some speculation and a lot of opinions from people and personnel from outside the Patriots organization, head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed in a season-ending press conference Tuesday that they would not be moving Will Campbell from his left tackle position to guard or center. This notion of moving the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after he gave up a game-high 14 quarterback pressures in the Patriots 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
Campbell’s struggles were magnified in Santa Clara on Sunday given the stage, but the young pass protector's issues were seen throughout this playoffs allowing 29 quarterback pressures throughout New England’s four games. Those 29 pressures is the most in the Next Gen Stats Era which has been recorded since 2016.
It is always tough to talk to reporters after a loss let alone a loss in the biggest game of your career, and Campbell did not speak to the media Sunday night. Tuesday Campbell addressed the media on the criticism he has received following his performance in the Super Bowl and playoffs as a whole. “It comes with the job when you don’t perform,” Campbell said. He then added, “Obviously I was picked high, paid a lot, so people expect a certain thing. And I expect more of myself”.
Mike Vrabel was adamant about keeping his young tackle in his position and showed support stating, “Will is 22 years old, he’s our left tackle, he’ll get better, he’ll get stronger”. Vrabel might just be calming the storm that culminated after a disappointing showing from Campbell as well as the Patriots as a whole but it will be interesting to see what stories circulate out of Foxborough this offseason as the NFL Draft is right around the corner and the Patriots could add more pieces to their offensive line with this upcoming draft class.
Campbell is young and malleable but it is always tough to reach a Super Bowl in your first season, play poorly, and sustain complete optimism about returning to the big game in the near future. Everyone knows how tough it is to get back to the Super Bowl if you’ve been there before and now Campbell, Vrabel and this Patriots squad will have an offseason of “what ifs” while they get ready to start the journey all over again for the 2026 season.
