“Yes, sir!” Calais Campbell steps out onto the field for the first time. Well, for the 19th first time. He looks out onto the sun-splashed fields at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills, smiles and jogs out to practice. With that familiar announcement, he’s back.
Campbell is embarking on his 19th season in the NFL, returning to the Ravens on a one-year deal signed this offseason. He will turn 40 just before Week 1.
All NFL players talk about the wear and tear a football season has on the body. Jammed fingers, dislocated knuckles, sore knees, sprained ankles, pulled muscles, broken bones, torn ligaments and countless bruises collect from July to January through practices, workouts and games.
Campbell has done it 18 times over. The 6-foot-8, 315-pound defensive end has made six Pro Bowls and multiple All-Pro teams. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2017 and won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2019 for his service off the field. He has already earned more than $150 million in his career. Why go for Year 19?
“I get asked that almost every day, from players, coaches, staff, fans, my family. Everybody says, ‘Why do you keep doing this?’ I think the only answer I can really give is that I love the game,” Campbell says. “I’m still fairly good at it, and they still want me to play. So, it’s like, ‘Why not?’ I’m healthy, and I love the game. There’s definitely a time and place [when] one day, it’s going to be taken from me, and I’m going to have to retire. Even today I was like, ‘I get to go out there on the field, put my helmet on,’ it’s a good feeling. I’m going to enjoy it as long as I can.”
Quarterbacks have often played into their 40s. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco have all done it recently, thanks in part to rule changes designed to protect them from injury. Several kickers and punters have done it, too, without the physical demands of other positions.
But a defensive player? And a lineman at that? It’s almost unheard of. Campbell is set to become only the sixth defensive player since 1960 to play in the NFL after turning 40. He will join Jim Marshall, Junior Seau, Darrell Green, Bruce Smith and Clay Matthews.
No one has done it in the last 15 years. Seau was the last, retiring at 40 after the 2009 season, but he only played 11 games total in his last two years, recording 36 tackles during that span. Campbell’s production has hardly dipped in the past several years. He played in all 17 regular-season games with the Arizona Cardinals last season. He posted 6.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits, on par with his career averages.
“Calais can still play at a really high level,” Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said. “I think his tape last season speaks for itself. Sack numbers on a team that didn’t win a lot of games [are] even more impressive … because you’re not playing with a lead all the time and really able to tee off. So, I’m excited about what he’ll bring between the lines to our defense — and then also very excited about him as a person and him as a leader in the locker room.”
The other aspect of Campbell’s career that pairs with his longevity is his durability. He has played in 278 out of a possible 293 regular-season games during his 18 years in the league, missing just 15 games — less than one game per year. All things considered, perhaps it would be more surprising if Campbell stopped playing after this season, even if he says differently.
“I always tell myself — and this year I feel it as strongly as ever — that this is probably going to be my last year,” Campbell said. “I know I said that last year and the year before, but I genuinely meant it at the time. I always tell myself to play well enough to be able to get a job again if I want to. If I go out there and perform to the level I want to play, I’m probably going to have to turn somebody down next year. That’s the ideal scenario — if I can have a chance to play well enough for them to want me again next year and I’ve got to tell them, ‘No.’ As of right now, I’m playing this year as if it’s my last year.”
A big part of how Campbell has performed well through his late 30s has been workload. He has learned to allow himself to come off the field on some plays to maximize what he can do when he’s on it.
“Part of getting older is evolving your game and understanding how to stay relevant and keep an impact,” Campbell said. “It’s very humbling. You have to say, ‘OK, I can’t play 60, 65 plays anymore, I have to come down to play 35, 40.’ That was a humbling experience, but it also led to more production by having better quality plays. I told [defensive coordinator Anthony] Weaver ‘I’m training to be able to play 40 plays a game and be able to give you a quality 40 and he said, ‘If you can give me 30, I’ll be happy.’ So somewhere in between there I think we’ll be fine.”
Campbell says a big part of deciding to return and play in Baltimore is because he believes this team has a legitimate chance to compete for a Super Bowl trophy — perhaps the only accolade missing from his resume. But he talked down that being an expectation for him and the team. For now, he’s taking things one day — one workout, one practice, one game — at a time, while he still can.
“I’m just a kid who loves playing football and I get to keep playing. I’m happy,” Campbell said.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox