New England Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell apologized to the media on Tuesday, two days after he skipped out on reporters following the team’s loss in Super Bowl LX.

Campbell, 22, said he wanted to get his head on straight before speaking into a live microphone after he allowed a sack and a Next Gen Stats-attributed 14 QB pressures allowed against an aggressive Seattle Seahawks defense. It didn’t get much better from there for the Patriots, who dropped a 29-13 decision to the Seahawks on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.

“When I get emotional, I tend to have no mind, and that’s not the way that I need to approach this thing,” Campbell said of snubbing the media. “I know myself, and if I would have spoken after, I would have said something that I didn’t need to say. So, I slept on it, I watched it. I know what I got to get better at and move on.”

Campbell admitted he was the target of criticism on social media, especially given that the Patriots selected him with the fourth overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

“It comes with the job when you don’t perform. Obviously I was picked high, paid a lot. So people expect a certain thing, and I expect more of myself,” Campbell said. “So whenever I don’t perform, I don’t expect everyone to be like, ‘It’s OK, buddy.’ I mean, obviously it sucks. But it doesn’t suck for anyone more than it sucks for me.”

Campbell also acknowledged that the MCL sprain he sustained against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 23 affected his performance late in the season. He was carted off the field in that game and went on injured reserve before returning for Week 18 and the playoffs.

The blind-side protector of quarterback Drake Maye wasn’t using it as an excuse, however.

“Obviously it wasn’t 100%. When you tear a ligament in your knee, it’s not gonna be how it was before. But I was healthy enough to go,” he said. “I’m not gonna say that it held me back, but it wasn’t the same as it was before. But I was good.”

There’s been chatter about if Campbell’s future will be at guard instead of left tackle after his postseason struggles, but Patriots coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t having any of that.

“Will is 22 years old. He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better. He’ll get stronger,” Vrabel said Tuesday. ” … There’s plays he’d like to have back. We’re not moving Will to guard, center, tight end or anywhere else.”

–Field Level Media

Nikola Topic, an Oklahoma City Thunder first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, made his debut in the G League Monday night as he returned from fighting testicular cancer.

The 12th overall pick in that draft, Topic scored seven points and added seven assists in 16 minutes for the Oklahoma City Blue in their 137-135 overtime win over the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

He is a 6-foot-6 point guard from Serbia.

Topic, 20, has yet to play in a regular-season game for the Thunder. He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee a few weeks before the draft and did not play as a rookie. Then, in October, he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemotherapy.

“There was probably a ton of emotions that he was going through,” Blue head coach Daniel Dixon told reporters postgame. “Having something taken away from you that you loved from a young age cannot be easy, and so, just to see his resilience and him to know that the whole organization is behind him, we’re pushing him forward.”

He added: “Just seeing him crack a smile while being out there on the court again, doing what he enjoys doing, what he loves to do, being out there with his teammates. I mean, there was so many positive things.”

–Field Level Media

Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram on Tuesday was named to replace injured Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry on USA Stripes in the upcoming NBA All-Star Game.

The selection of Ingram was made by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. The All-Star Game will take place on Sunday at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.

Ingram, 28, will be playing in his second NBA All-Star Game and first since the 2019-20 season.

He is averaging 22.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 52 games (all starts) this season.

Curry, a two-time NBA All-Star Game MVP, will not compete in Sunday’s annual showcase due to an ongoing injury to his right knee.

The 37-year-old is averaging 27.2 points, 4.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 39 games (all starts) this season.

Curry, who has not played since leaving a Jan. 30 home game against the Detroit Pistons, joins Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen) as All-Stars who will miss the game. Gilgeous-Alexander has been replaced on the Team World roster by Houston Rockets’ center Alperen Sengun.

–Field Level Media