Countdown to Kickoff: 37 Days

Tommie Campbell's 37 games played for the Titans were 37 more than seemed possible at one point in his life.

The countdown to kickoff continues.

The Tennessee Titans will open the 2020 regular season Sept. 14 at Denver. That is 37 days away. So, today we look at one way the number 37 figures into the team’s recent history.

There was a time in his life when the idea that Tommie Campbell would play even one game in the NFL seemed absurd.

Ultimately, he played in 37 for the Tennessee Titans. Coincidentally, that also was his jersey number for them.

The Titans selected the 6-foot-2, hyper-athletic cornerback in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft after he completed his college career at Division II California University of Pennsylvania.

Of all the players the Titans have picked over the past 21 seasons, it is possible that none had a more compelling story.

Campbell’s college career began in 2005 at the University of Pittsburgh. He did not last there and spent two and a half years out of the game, during which he worked as a janitor in the Pittsburgh Airport and developed an admitted pack-a-day cigarette habit. When a family friend recommended him to the coaches at California (Pa.), he got himself back in shape and eventually became the third player ever from that school taken in the NFL draft.

Campbell lasted three seasons with the Titans but never cracked the starting lineup on defense. The highlight of his time in Tennessee was an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown during his rookie season, a play that started when Marc Mariani field the kick and then handed the ball to Campbell. The next year, he returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown.

His time in the NFL ended after he played seven games with Jacksonville in 2014, but his football career continues to this day. In 2016, he signed with Calgary of the Canadian Football League and is now with his third different team in that league, the Toronto Argonauts. In 2017, he played in the CFL championship game and in 2019, with Montreal, he was an East Division All-Star.

Campbell is now 32 years old but his desire to play the game as long as possible is understandable.