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New England Patriots OT Will Campbell
The New England Patriots lost Super Bowl LX 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks, but arguably the real loser of the game was left tackle Will Campbell.
The rookie lineman was abused by the relentless Seahawks pass-rush all game, and he had the worst statistical performance of the year on a national stage in front of more fans than he’s ever played for before.
Campbell allowed 14 pressures — the most any offensive lineman has allowed in a single game this season, according to NextGen Stats — 6 hurries, a QB hit, and a sack on 71 offensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Campbell’s performance was so bad, in fact, that he was trending on social media because so many fans were urging the Patriots to move him to guard permanently.
Patriots’ Definitive Statement on Campbell’s Future
GettyNew England Patriots OT Will Campbell
The pleas of Patriots fans made their way back to head coach Mike Vrabel, who addressed Campbells future during his end-of-season media availability on Tuesday.
Vrabel acknowledged that Campbell struggled in the Super Bowl, but he made it clear that neither he nor the coaching staff define the LSU alum by the one game. He also addressed whether a position change was in Campbell’s future.
“Will is 22 years old,” Vrabel said, via NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe. “He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better. He’ll get stronger… there’s plays he’d like to have back. We’re not moving Will to guard, center, tight end or anywhere else.”
Campbell showed flashes of greatness during his rookie season, but he also showed some serious growing pains as well.
He started 13 games as a rookie, playing 1,043 snaps at left tackle and allowing 9 sacks, 45 pressures, 29 hurries, and 7 QB hits, according to PFF. He had a 5-game streak where he didn’t allow a sack, and he had three games where he didn’t allow a sack or a pressure as well.
Campbell Speaks for First Time Since Super Bowl LX
After Sunday’s loss, reporters lined up to speak with Campbell about his disastrous performance.
However, Campbell reportedly told those reporters multiple times he wasn’t talking to the media and left the locker room area — a decision that brought even more heat on him on social media.
Campbell addressed on Tuesday exactly why he chose to stay silent after the Super Bowl.
“When I get emotional, I tend to have no mind, and that’s not the way that I need to approach this thing,” Campbell said, via NFL.com. “I know myself, and if I would have spoken after, I would have said something that I didn’t need to say.”
But Campbell did admit that he understands whether he plays good or bad, holding himself accountable to reporters is part of the territory.
“It comes with the job when you don’t perform,” Campbell continued. “Obviously, I was picked high, paid a lot, so people expect a certain thing, and I expect more myself. So whenever I don’t perform, I don’t expect everyone to be like, ‘It’s OK, buddy.’ I mean, obviously it sucks, but it doesn’t suck for anyone more than it sucks for me.”
Michael Gallagher Michael Gallagher is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. He has more than a decade of experience working for both local and national news outlets covering the NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, college football, and MMA. His work has been featured in Newsweek, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Athlon Sports, The Hockey News, the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, and Yardbarker. More about Michael Gallagher
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