Mike Vrabel: Will Campbell staying at left tackle for Patriots

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Mike Vrabel: Will Campbell staying at left tackle for Patriots

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Tue, Feb 10, 2026 ·

2 min read

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FOXBOROUGH – Mike Vrabel understands the scrutiny that comes with being a team’s left tackle. That doesn’t mean he agrees with the criticism or suggestion that Will Campbell shouldn’t play the position.

On Tuesday, the Patriots coach voiced his support for the team’s first-round draft pick and said Campbell won’t be changing positions in New England .

“When you sign up to play left tackle, you sign up to play corner, you sign up to play quarterback, you sign up to be head coach, you get judged. You get scrutinized,” Vrabel said. “Will’s 22 years old. He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better. He’ll get stronger. 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 or center or to tight end or anywhere else.”

During last year’s pre-draft process, Campbell’s arm measured at 32 5/8 inches. His arm length, or lack thereof, became a major talking point about the LSU product. Historically, NFL teams want tackles with arms that measure at 33 inches or beyond.

For the Patriots , that wasn’t the case with Campbell. An outstanding athlete, the team believed he would stabilize their left tackle position and give them a quality starter immediately.

This season, Campbell did just that. The rookie was at the team’s starting left tackle position as soon as offseason practices began. He started 13 regular-season games, allowing five sacks across three of them.

Campbell didn’t allow a sack in four consecutive games before suffering a knee injury in Week 12 in Cincinnati . On Tuesday, Campbell said he suffered a torn ligament in that game and that he wasn’t 100% for the playoffs

“It obviously wasn’t 100%,” Campbell said. “I mean, I don’t think when you tear a ligament in your knee, it’s not going to be how it was before, but I was healthy enough to go. I’m not going to say that it held me back, but yeah, it wasn’t the same as it was before, obviously. But I was good.”

In the playoffs, Campbell didn’t look quite the same. Pro Football Focus had him down for four sacks allowed in four games. In Super Bowl 60, Campbell allowed a sack. The NFL’s Next Gen Stats credited him with 14 pressures.

That performance brought out more scrutiny for the rookie and more speculation that the Patriots should move Campbell to guard.

Vrabel was quick to shut that down on Tuesday.

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