Will Patriots move Will Campbell despite Mike Vrabel's comments after poor Super Bowl showing?

Days after New England Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell endured a nightmare outing in his club's 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel insisted that "we're not moving Will to guard, center, tight end or anywhere else."

Understandably, such a declaration hasn't silenced talk about what the Patriots may or may not do regarding the left tackle position once the new league year opens on March 11. For his latest mailbag, Patriots and NFL reporter Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated was asked about Campbell's short-term future in New England. 

Patriots keeping options open for moving Will Campbell?

Breer noted that he believes "the Patriots will move forward with Campbell at left tackle, though my guess is they’ll stay loose on any potential options at the position."

"Campbell’s a good player," Breer continued, "but the reality is a lot of people have seen him as a guard dating back to before last year’s draft. Can he be a Jake Matthews-type left tackle? Sure. And that gives New England some flexibility."

Breer was referencing how analysts and other members of the NFL community voiced concerns about Campbell's arm length before the Patriots made him the fourth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft. More recently, Campbell surrendered four sacks over New England's four playoff games, according to Pro Football Focus. The 14 pressures that Campbell surrendered during the Super Bowl were reportedly the most allowed by a lineman in any contest this season (playoffs included) and the most allowed by a lineman in a postseason game since 2018.

Earlier this week, Campbell revealed that he played with a torn ligament in his knee throughout New England's playoff run. Meanwhile, the Seahawks sacked Patriots quarterback Drake Maye six times this past Sunday. Maye committed three turnovers in the Super Bowl defeat. 

Why moving Will Campbell may make sense for Patriots

"They can move forward with Campbell there and upgrade at guard," Breer added about the Patriots. "Or they can go big-game hunting and get a left tackle, and move Campbell inside (and a lot of those folks who think he’s a guard believe he has All-Pro potential at that position). My guess is how they go long-term will be dictated by what opportunities they’re presented with. Which is the right way to approach it."

In short, it sounds like the Patriots will keep their options open as it pertains to Campbell's position for Week 1 of the 2026 season.