Former Walter Payton Man of the Year Signs with the Arizona Cardinals

On April 1, 2025, six-time Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell agreed to a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals worth $5.5 million, reuniting him with the team that drafted him back in 2008. At 38 years old, Campbell has achieved much in his career. He is a staple in the community wherever he goes. In 2019, Campbell won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, which is given to the player who exemplifies an outstanding philanthropic effort in his community. The 6 foot 8 vet is also the recipient of the Bart Starr Award in 2019, given to one who shows great character on and off the field, and the Art Rooney Award in 2024, awarded for outstanding sportsmanship on the field and was even voted into the NFL All-Decades Team of the 2010s with legends Cameron Jordan, J.J. Watt, and Hall of Famer Julius Peppers. 

Campbell brings a ton of on-field experience to the Cardinals with his career 110.5 sacks, which ranks 29th All-Time and fifth among active players. The University of Miami alumni was a second-round pick in the 2008 draft to the Cardinals, which he called home for nine years, notching 56.5 sacks in 138 games, making two Pro Bowls, and appearing in a Super Bowl. Campbell then spent three years in Jacksonville, signing a large four-year deal. In Week One of the 2017 season, the Jaguars tallied ten sacks, four of which were by Campbell in his Jacksonville debut, which is still a franchise record to this day. Jacksonville would quickly become one of the worst defensive units by 2019, leading to Campbell’s departure as he was traded for a fifth-round pick to the Baltimore Ravens at the beginning of 2020. Campbell remained in Baltimore until his release in 2023, where he signed a one-year deal with the Falcons, and then a one-year deal with the Dolphins just a year later.

Reuniting with the team he played for in the first nine years of his career, Campbell will join an upgraded defensive line with veterans Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols, and L.J. Collier as well as draftees Darius Robinson and Dante Stills in addition to free agent signing Dalvin Tomlinson this offseason. Campbell, who will be 39 in September, may not be an every-down type of defender, and his statistics have been on a steady downward decline since his tenure in Jacksonville but that is expected of someone who is nearing 40 years old. Despite his age, the 17-year veteran is just that. A seasoned veteran with playoff experience, and a Super Bowl appearance, plus he is the overall epitome of a mentor who has great potential in teaching and building the young guys within the Cardinals organization, giving back to the club that gave him his start.