Star Homecoming Gives Cardinals, Fans Incredible Opportunity

According to the NFLPA, the average length of career for a NFL player is roughly 3.3 years which makes the careers of some of the longest-tenured athletes even more impressive.

Famously, Tom Brady broke the mold for quarterbacks by lasting 23 seasons playing the game at the highest level into his mid-40s.

The two greatest wide receivers of all time, Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald, also had incredible longevity in the league with careers of 20 and 17 seasons respectively making many of their records nearly impossible to beat.

Seventeen year NFL vet Calais Campbell is part of this illustrious class of athlete going into his 18th season in 2025 and back with the team where it all began in 2008.

That's right, Campbell was drafted in 2008.

Campbell started his football life as a highly touted defensive end prospect out of South High School in Denver and committed to play at one of the elite college programs of that era, University of Miami where he had a productive college career that included 19.5 sacks and 39 TFLs over three starting seasons.

DE wasn't the biggest need for the Cardinals in 2008, but when Campbell unexpectedly fell out of the first round they decided to go BPA and snagged a future legend with the No. 50 overall pick.

The Last of the Bunch

Jan 16, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Jared Veldheer (68) and defensive end Calais Campbell (93) celebrate following the game against the Green Bay Packers during an NFC Divisional round playoff game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Although he has spent the last eight seasons with other teams, Arizona is the place where Campbell has spent the most time, the first nine seasons of his playing career.

In that time, Campbell was part of the two best squads that the Cardinals have ever put together - the 2008 Super Bowl team and the 2015 NFC Championship game group.

His rookie season was the only campaign in which he has not recorded at least one sack but he was playing then with a group that included Karlos Dansby, Darnell Dockett, Chike Okeafor, and Bertrand Berry. The trip to the Super Bowl in this season is still the high-water mark for the Cardinals franchise.

Campbell was truly hitting his stride by the second biggest moment in recent franchise history when the team made it all the way to the NFC Championship game in 2015. That year he was a consistent force on the defensive line and earned his way to his second consecutive Pro Bowl.

This period of time, 2008 to 2016 was arguably the most successful single period in franchise history and Campbell played alongside some of the names that have already gone down in the books as truly legendary Cardinals: Kurt Warner, Adrian Wilson, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Carson Palmer, Patrick Peterson, and more.

Of all those names, only one is still on an active roster in the National Football League: Calais Campbell.

His homecoming presents fans with an incredible opportunity to look back fondly on some of the successes of the past and daydream about potential future success.

Campbell brings with him not only undeniable and consistent talent on the field but an important piece of franchise history for a defensive roster currently stacked with young, slightly unproven talent.

Welcome back Calais.