The Impact of Calais Campbell
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — The Ravens were clearly a better team with Calais Campbell in the lineup.
Baltimore went 1-3 when Campbell was sidelined with a calf injury. He played a key role on the revamped run defense, helping the Ravens topple Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs.
Campbell is in the final season of his two-year contract with Baltimore. He will turn 35 on Sept. 1, so the upcoming season could be his final one with the Ravens.
He's confident the team can make a deeper playoff run in 2021 and produce the first Super-Bowl victory of his storied career.
“Honestly, I believe that we have the right people in place to get the job done," Campbell said. "I think the biggest thing that I think that would be important for us, is being able to play this [playoff] game at home. I think next year, we’re going to try to find a way to win our division, and to get home playoff games. I think that would be huge. I know in years past, we’ve had that. But I think going forward … this team – we’re close, we’re real close."
Baltimore acquired Campbell from Jacksonville for a 2020 fifth-round pick in March. Campbell, 33, had 31.5 sacks, 44 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries over 48 games for the Jaguars.
He signed a two-year, $25 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens that included a $10 million signing bonus, $20 million guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $12.5 million. He's eligible for free agency in 2022.
The Ravens were hoping Campbell could boost the interior pass rush and he delivered.
Campbell, 6-foot-8, 300 pounds, started all 12 games in which he appeared for the Ravens and led all of the defensive linemen with four sacks.
He also finished with 28 tackles, 10 quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss and six passes defended for the NFL’s No. 2 scoring defense (18.9 ppg) and No. 2 third-down defense (34.0%.). He earned his sixth-overall and fourth-consecutive Pro Bowl selection.
Campbell also served as a mentor to some of the younger players, who will likely have to carry the torch after next season.
"The biggest thing is that I try to keep the young guys encouraged and understanding that you don’t get to start back here next year. You’ve got to go back and earn it," he said. "And we did a good job with that this year. I feel like the team had so much success last year. And a lot of times, the next year, you just fall off – you don’t get there.
"Whatever things we went through, we had to level off a bunch of ball games and find a way to get in this position to have a chance. So, I feel like the biggest thing is just making sure that we don’t take anything for granted, and we go and put the work in, put our heads down and grind and try to earn that right to get back here and have an opportunity here next year.”
