Patriots rookie tackle just survived his toughest NFL test against a future Hall of Famer

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Patriots rookie tackle just survived his toughest NFL test against a future Hall of Famer

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Mon, Oct 27, 2025 ·

3 min read

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FOXBOROUGH – Life is rarely easy for a rookie tackle in the NFL. For Will Campbell , that’s putting it mildly after he faced off against future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett on Sunday.

The Patriots starting left tackle had the most difficult matchup of his career in the team’s blowout win over the Cleveland Browns . Garrett’s not just one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, but one of the best in NFL history.

Garrett finished with a career-high five sacks against the Patriots offensive line. Although Campbell was responsible for some, the rookie also held his own against one of the best.

“It’s always a challenge when you play Myles Garrett,” Mike Vrabel said. “It’s hard to recreate that speed. What are we going to do on the show team? Who do we have? If we did, they wouldn’t be on the show team. There were some good plays, good blocks, Patience, closing the space. He did a good job in the run game. And then some plays that we would like to have back. That’s what happens.”

Out of Garrett’s five sacks, Campbell allowed two. The first came at 9:30 in the first quarter. The Patriots tried to give the rookie some help with tight end Hunter Henry , who attempted to chip Garrett. The All-Pro dipped inside of Henry and then bounced outside of Campbell, getting to Maye in 3.41 seconds.

It was similar at 1:00 of the second quarter as Garrett dipped inside of Henry and then beat Campbell on the outside. The pass rusher got to Maye in 3.62 seconds and forced a fumble, which was recovered by the Patriots.

Vrabel said the Patriots need to do a better job of chipping opposing pass rushers.

“Probably need to close the space a little bit,” Vrabel said. “Close the space and know that, ‘Hey, everyone else is on their own. We have to commit two players to Myles.’ As opposed to hanging in there a little bit. I think we’ll all learn from that and be able to improve and understand he sees those all the time. He knows when he’s coming off that chip, we have to close the distance and know that he’s ready to make a move or another couple moves.”

Campbell wasn’t the only player to feel Garrett’s wrath. The Pro Bowl pass rusher also beat Jared Wilson , Morgan Moses , and Henry for sacks —another saw Garrett unblocked before dragging Maye down to the turf.

Campbell’s two sacks allowed broke a streak of four games with no sacks or quarterback hits allowed for the rookie this season. The No. 4 overall pick has allowed five sacks in eight games this season.

“Will’s going to keep practicing, improving, and continuing to help us,” Vrabel said.

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