Mike Vrabel leaves little gray area when talking about Will Campbell’s future

Outside of maybe quarterback Drake Maye, no player's performance from the New England Patriots' Super Bowl LX loss was more scrutinized than left tackle Will Campbell. Campbell was the focus point of an offensive line that struggled as a whole.

According to PFF, Campbell allowed a team-high eight pressures with a sack, and was also called for a crucial false start penalty on third down. That continued what was overall a rough postseason performance for the rookie first-round pick, as he returned after missing the end of the regular season due to a knee injury.

In the aftermath of the game and playoffs, questions emerged about whether Campbell's future would continue at tackle. With some suggesting during the pre-draft process that Campbell's future would be at guard due to his arm length, those conversations came back up immediately following the game.

Two days later though, head coach Mike Vrabel gave a definitive answer on the subject. Asked about Campbell's performance and the speculation about a position change, Vrabel cut off the question and left no gray area in his answer.

"Will's 22 years old. He's our left tackle," Vrabel said. "He'll get better, he'll get stronger. There were moments where he played well, moments where he blocked the guy. There's plays he'd like to have back. We're not moving Will to guard, to center, to tight end or anywhere else."

There's that. With that answer, Vrabel seemingly did his best to put to bed what could have been/might still be one of the biggest talking points around the Patriots this offseason.

Instead, the focus will be on how much Campbell improves in Year 2 as Vrabel noted. He's entering his first full offseason in an NFL program after spending this time last year focusing on the draft.

Plus, he'll have a chance to get healthy. Campbell himself revealed on Tuesday he "wasn't 100% for the playoffs" due to a torn ligament in his knee. Campbell missed four games late in the year due to what was described at the time as an MCL sprain, but it's not clear if that's the same injury Campbell referenced on Tuesday. After a promising regular season, he never looked the same coming back from that injury.

Even with Vrabel setting the record straight on Campbell's future, the rookie still said on Tuesday he understands the criticism he's gotten coming away from the game.

"It comes with the job," he told reporters via Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald. "When you don't perform, obviously, I was (drafted) high, paid a lot. So people expect a certain thing, and I expect more of 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."

While Campbell is staying at left tackle the Patriots will likely have some other spots on the offensive line to figure out. Fellow rookie Jared Wilson was drafted as a center but spent the season at left guard, where he was up and down. Starting at center instead was 31-year-old Garrett Bradbury, who has no guaranteed money in a contract year in 2026. The team also will need to think about a long-term plan at right tackle with Morgan Moses still under contract but turning 35 next month.