Campbell Discusses Decision to Return to Arizona

Former Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell believes his new/old team can make a run in 2025

Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell (93) leaves the field after the game against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Calais Campbell's one season with the Miami Dolphins featured some highs and lows, and one of those lows definitely was the last-second loss against the Arizona Cardinals.

And it was shortly after that day that he started thinking about rejoining his former team at some point, a development that has materialized this offseason when he left the Dolphins to sign with Arizona as an unrestricted free agent.

Campbell was introduced — or, should we say, reintroduced — to the Arizona media Thursday but wasn't asked about his decision to leave Miami, only why he chose to come back to the Cardinals.

"I've always had a lot of love, and I didn't really start thinking about coming back, like, officially, like, really let myself think about that, until, like, last year, the trade deadline, they were one of the team that tried to trade for me," Campbell said. "And so I started getting my head like, it would be cool to go back to Arizona, you know? And then this offseason, a lot of teams are interested. But when we got to talking about all the different possibilities and stuff, I mean, this kept coming up."

Along with the nostalgic aspect of rejoining the Cardinals, Campbell said he believes the team has the ability to "make a run" next season.

Part of the reason was what he saw last October when the Cardinals came to Hard Rock Stadium and left with a 28-27 victory on a last-second field goal.

"I just remember, like this team was way more challenging than people gave him credit for," Campbell said. "It's good to see first-hand when you play against them. And last year, I felt like they were really hot, and then kind of just stumbled late, whatever. But I felt like a lot of that, like the value I can bring can really make a big difference here. I take a lot of pride in being a value adder and trying to make my team around me better. And I feel like I can do that here."

Reports of the Cardinals looking to trade for Campbell at the trade deadline last year came from his Jared, a comedian and former University of Miami defensive back, appearing as a guest on the podcast of comedian and Dolphins fan Mike Lenoci.

While it already had been reported the Dolphins turned down an offer of a 2026 fifth-round pick from the Baltimore Ravens for the veteran defensive lineman, Jared Campbell elaborated on the discussions that day as relayed to him by his brother.

“There was a bidding war," he said, mentioning the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers and, of course, the Ravens as teams that were intersted. "They had nine teams that offered at least a sixth-round pick. … Then there was a bidding war, so then the teams offered a fifth — the 49ers and the Ravens. The [Dolphins] said, ‘Oh, we’ll go with the Ravens. You’re familiar with the team, they look good. You’re good.’ And the 49ers came in last minute and said we’ll give a fourth-round pick for him.”

Head coach Mike McDaniel pretty much later confirmed reports that he stepped in late in the process to make clear that he didn't want the team to trade Campbell, even though the Dolphins were 2-6 at the time, because it would have been a sign of giving up on the season.

As Dolphins fans know, the Dolphins hung on to Campbell for the rest of the 2024 season because they remained in contention until the final week of the regular season when they were eliminated with the Denver Broncos rout of the Kansas City Chiefs when Miami needed the opposite result along with a victory against the New York Jets on that first Sunday of January.

Campbell made it clear he was chasing a ring when he signed a one-year deal with Miami in the offseason.

“Calais was prepared to be traded,” Jared Campbell said on the podcast. “Somehow they came to the decision in the final hour before they were like ‘Hey, give us that pick.’ To be like, ‘No, we’re not going to do this.’ Calais was like ‘Man, it made me feel like love. Because if you turn down a fourth-round pick for a 38-year-old guy on an expiring contract, you must really want me.'”

CAMPBELL CHOOSES CARDINALS

Campbell joined the Cardinals after agreeing to terms on a one-year contract for $5.5 million with a max value of $7.5 million. Campbell got a modest raise over the $3.125 million he made with the Dolphins last season when he produced more than any 38-year-old ever should be expected.

The news of Campbell joining Arizona came one day after Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel discussed Campbell's status and the possibility/desire of having him back on the roster in 2025.

"Calais specifically is in a unique situation where he is assessing multiple options as a player in the 45th year of his career," McDaniel said, seriously at the start but jokingly at the end. "So I understand and there’s a lot at play with regard to, all right, so your play is high, you decided to play another year; he’s assessing those options. He was a very important player to the team last year, and I see him having the opportunity to be a very important player on the team this year.

"I also see ... I feel like we have some options at the position. He has some options. That position in particular has been a focal point of mine this offseason and I feel good about how it could play out and there’s a couple different scenarios it could play out."

Campbell didn't sign with the Dolphins last year until the middle of June, so his decision to continue playing clearly was a lot easier for him this time around.

CAMPBELL AND THE CARDINALS

Arizona seemed like a long shot for Campbell because of his stated desire to compete for a championship, and the Cardinals having made the playoffs once (2021) in the past nine seasons.

Campbell, though, is very familiar with the organization and Arizona itself, having spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Cardinals after being selected in the second round of the 2008 draft out of the University of Miami.

With Arizona, Campbell reached the Super Bowl as a rookie in 2008 and then reached the NFC Championship Game during the 2015 season before losing against the Carolina Panthers.

Campbell then spent three seasons each with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Baltimore Ravens.

His best NFL season came in 2017 with the Jaguars when he finished with 14.5 sacks, was named first-team All-Pro and helped Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.

But after one season with Atlanta and one with the Dolphins, it seemed like Baltimore would be the best fit for him to continue his career because the Ravens look like the former team of his closest to a Super Bowl.

Campbell spent three seasons with that organization, from 2020-22, which ironically sandwiched Lamar Jackson's two NFL MVP years and the one where he was the runner-up to Josh Allen.