FOXBORO — Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel recently said on the radio that he best gift he received for Christmas was a shirt featuring rookie left tackle Will Campbell in a Baby Bjorn.
The Patriots’ offensive line gave their head coach the shirt, which also shows Vrabel and assistant offensive line coach Jason Houghtaling, as a rib because of the close relationship Campbell shares with his two coaches.
Campbell, who returned from a knee injury Sunday, was asked about his relationship with Vrabel after the 38-10 win over the Dolphins.
“The first time I met him, we definitely hit it off. I mean, we’re very similar. I just feel like it’s very rare to have a coach like him that can connect with so many different personalities on a team. I don’t ever want to have to play for anybody else,” Campbell said. “I feel like that’s the best way to sum it up. Other than high school, this is the most fun I’ve had playing football since high school.
“All you ever heard about whenever you’re going in the league as a rookie is ‘it’s not like college.’ You know, ‘enjoy college. You don’t have that close bond team.’ And I feel like that’s complete BS, because this team has done nothing but prove that wrong. I feel like we got a lot of great guys, great coaches, and I’m just super thankful to be a part of this group.”
Campbell said he thought the worst when he first suffered his knee injury in Week 12 against the Bengals.
The LSU product said he was “super thankful” to get back on the field Sunday. He also said his knee felt good coming out of the game.
“There was certain stuff that progressively got better over the night,” Campbell said. “I wasn’t going to come out the first drive playing how I was before I went down, just because I hadn’t gone against a real live look in six weeks, and I went against a two-time Pro Bowler,” Campbell said. “I felt like I got progressively better as the drives went on. And finally I caught my stride and felt good. But I was really excited to be able to play tonight and play before we have to go into the tournament.”
The Patriots didn’t allow a sack in Sunday’s win over the Dolphins. Campbell’s blocking also helped the Patriots pick up 243 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries.
