Welcome back to the mailbag. This week, we’ve got questions about the offensive line, Ja’Lynn Polk, and more. Let’s get to it.
**The Patriots seem to want to prove they’re right in sticking with Will Campbell as their starting left tackle. Penei Sewell and Joe Alt were also All-American left tackles. Both switched to right tackle, and Sewell made All-Pro. Why doesn’t it make sense to switch Campbell — who was exposed in the playoffs, especially in the Super Bowl — to right tackle or guard?**
**— Kevin H., Melrose, Mass.**
Sewell and Alt are great players, and I think Campbell still has a higher ceiling than what he’s already shown. But I’d be cautious to make those comps. Different players have different career paths. A move for Campbell could be in the cards at some point, but it certainly appears he’s sticking at left tackle for now.
The last image we had of Campbell was in the Super Bowl, the end of a miserable postseason stretch due in part to his knee injury. But in the weeks leading up to the injury, he had begun to play well. It’s going to be interesting to see if he’s 100 percent past the knee issue. If he is, I’d expect an uptick in his overall play.
**Do you have any thoughts on the Ja****’lynn Polk retirement? To me it seems so odd and a bit sad/tragic. He went from a highly touted second-round pick to being out of the league in two years. Has anything similar happened in recent** **history? What were your thoughts after observing him in New England for a couple of years?**
**— Adam King, Boston**
Agreed. Polk was always really nice with us in the media; I remember talking with him at the end of his rookie season about the fact he was going to be a father soon, and how excited he was for the opportunity. He was popular in the locker room, assiduous and genuine in his work habits (according to teammates), and had a lot of talent. In my experience, it was a perfect storm for him. He was drafted by a rebuilding team, got poor coaching early in his professional career, and never really figured out a way to rebound from early struggles as a rookie.
**Mack Hollins has expressed a willingness to shift positions. Is there a reason he couldn’t be moved to tight end to shore up a thin group and eliminate the logjam at wideout?**
**— Mike Martorano, Denver, Colorado (via Massachusetts)**
I’ve been debating this with others in the media. He’s best suited as a wide receiver — he’ll continue to be classified as a receiver in name — but he does things that make him unique. With his size and what he does as a blocker, he might best be classified as a flanker, an old-school term for someone who is split wide like a pass catcher, but with more formational flexibility.
Hollins’s size and skill set are the reasons I believe his position is secure when it comes to crowded receiver room. He’ll do some tight-end stuff, but I think we’ll see him stick with the receiver designation moving forward.
**From what images I’ve seen it appears that most, maybe all of the Patriots are wearing guardian caps over their helmets. Is that in fact the case, and is it being used as precaution for practices?**
**— Tom Briggette, Wilmington, N.C.**
Most NFL players are now required to wear them during training camp practices. (Quarterbacks, punters, and kickers are among those exempt.) They remain optional for the regular season.
Offensive lineman Jared Wilson told me last year he started using one last season after he sustained a concussion, and has plans to continue to do so moving forward. I’d also expect a few other Patriots to use them. New receiver Romeo Doubs started using one in 2024 when he was with Green Bay. He even had a custom one when the Packers wore throwback uniforms.
**It seems to me the Patriots wasted $67 million on Romeo Doubs. From all I have read****, he hasn’t lived up to his worth. Don’t you believe they would have been better off putting it towards the contract of Christian Gonzalez and keeping Kayshon Boutte because of his working relationship with Drake Maye?**
**— Jim Benoit, Delray Beach, Fla.**
In a word, no.
Doubs is a smart, savvy veteran who will be productive for the Patriots. Making that sort of judgment on a guy like that at this stage of his New England tenure is premature. While contract negations are fluid, in terms of financial priorities, the Patriots are financially flexible enough to afford both a new deal for Gonzalez and Doubs’s contract. (In my opinion: Boutte is more of a personnel decision than a financial one.)
_Some letters have been edited for length or clarity._
Christopher Price can be reached at [christopher.price@globe.com](mailto:christopher.price@globe.com). Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.