It was over long before Bad Bunny took center stage. Although the New England Patriots attempted to make a game of it in the second half, the Seattle Seahawks largely won Super Bowl 60 in the first because of its impressive pass rush. It was a particularly bad day for offensive tackle Will Campbell, who struggled all night keeping the vaunted Seattle defense in check. His job is now up for debate...
Campbell's head coach Mike Vrabel did not beat around the bush on who his starting tackle will be.
“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. 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."
Of course, Vrabel and Campbell will likely win out because this team just won the AFC and Campbell was a top-five pick out of LSU for a reason. That being said, if it comes to fruition that Campbell needs to kick inside on account of his short arms, that could be problematic for former Georgia star interior lineman Jared Wilson. He started all 13 games he played in last NFL season for the Patriots.
He may have only been a rookie as well, but New England cannot afford for Campbell to fail first...
Will Campbell's struggles could impact Jared Wilson's NFL viability
While the Patriots overachieved what many thought they would be coming in, this is probably closer to a 10-7 team than the 14-3 one who just won the AFC. Much will be made about their flimsy 2025 schedule. Although you cannot control who you play, New England played 11 of its 17 regular-season games vs. teams who fired their head coach. No, this does not include the flightless New York Jets...
Yes, this does include the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins twice, but the only team the Patriots did not play who ended up firing their head coach this year was the awful Arizona Cardinals. In the postseason, they beat the snakebitten Los Angeles Chargers, a Houston Texans team that could do anything with CJ Stroud under center, and a Denver Broncos team that did not have Bo Nix available.
So what does this mean for Campbell, Vrabel, Wilson, and the Patriots moving forward? Even if they won the AFC, there is still plenty of room to grow. Again, Vrabel mentioned Campbell is only a young player. The same principle applies to Wilson. However, the allure of a young player only lasts so long. Half of the league is undrafted. The average NFL career is only three seasons, for what it is worth...
In the end, the moment the Patriots decide to kick Campbell inside, Wilson's days will be numbered.