New England Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell apologized to the media on Tuesday, two days after he skipped out on reporters following the team’s loss in Super Bowl LX.
Campbell, 22, said he wanted to get his head on straight before speaking into a live microphone after he allowed a sack and a Next Gen Stats-attributed 14 QB pressures allowed against an aggressive Seattle Seahawks defense. It didn’t get much better from there for the Patriots, who dropped a 29-13 decision to the Seahawks on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.
“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 of snubbing the media. “I know myself, and if I would have spoken after, I would have said something that I didn’t need to say. So, I slept on it, I watched it. I know what I got to get better at and move on.”
Campbell admitted he was the target of criticism on social media, especially given that the Patriots selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
“It comes with the job when you don’t perform. Obviously I was picked high, paid a lot. So people expect a certain thing, and I expect more of myself,” Campbell said. “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.”
Campbell also acknowledged that the MCL sprain he sustained against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 23 affected his performance late in the season. He was carted off the field in that game and went on injured reserve before returning for Week 18 and the playoffs.
The blind-side protector of quarterback Drake Maye wasn’t using it as an excuse, however.
“Obviously it wasn’t 100%. When you tear a ligament in your knee, it’s not gonna be how it was before. But I was healthy enough to go,” he said. “I’m not gonna say that it held me back, but it wasn’t the same as it was before. But I was good.”
There’s been chatter about if Campbell’s future will be at guard instead of left tackle after his postseason struggles, but Patriots coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t having any of that.
“Will is 22 years old. He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better. He’ll get stronger,” Vrabel said Tuesday. ” … There’s plays he’d like to have back. We’re not moving Will to guard, center, tight end or anywhere else.”
–Field Level Media
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