New Dolphins DT Calais Campbell considered retirement, chose Miami because of ‘really good opportunity’

There are only three players currently NFL 2008 active rosters NFL Draft: 2023 NFL Returning Player of the Year quarterback Joe Flacco (Indianapolis Colts), quarterback Josh Johnson (Baltimore Ravens) and new Miami Dolphins defensive back Calais Campbell.

Campbell, a six-time Pro Bowler and member of the 2010s All-Decade Team, will turn 38 on Sept. 1, but after a 2023 season in which he started all 17 games for the Atlanta Falcons and totaled 6.5 sacks, 56 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 42 quarterback pressures – one fewer than Kayvon Thibodeaux, the New York Giants’ 2022 fifth overall pick – he knew he still had some left in the tank.

“I thought about [retiring]”, Campbell said, via The Palm Beach Post, on Tuesday. “I guess I didn’t think about it too much… If you’re playing football at a high level, why not play one more time? Just going through that process and trying to figure out if I really want to do this. It really came down to just being with his family, talking to his wife and kids… And it really came down to: I want to go through the process of what it takes to be good again.

“Because physically, and the desire and love for the game, it never went away, not even a little bit. I mean, obviously there was a time when I was a lot faster and a lot more athletic, but I’m still pretty athletic and I can still get the job done on the football field, I have to learn to use other parts of my game, bring a lot more to the game. of strength, but I still have enough finesse and everything, I got a box full of little tools. But what keeps me going is the love for the game.”

Additionally, the opportunity to join a playoff team in Miami gave him a chance for a different experience in 2024 after the Falcons went 7-10 for the third consecutive year in 2023 under now-fired head coach Arthur Smith. Campbell never won the Super Bowl, but he appeared in the big game as a rookie during the 2008 season with the Arizona Cardinals. He and his team lost Super Bowl XLIII 27-23 after Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw one of the best passing touchdowns in history Super Bowl story to the back corner of the end zone for receiver Santonio Holmes, who tapped his toe for the score.

So the thirst for another chance at a Super Bowl ring drew Campbell to South Florida and a Miami team with six Pro Bowlers: quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Tyreek Hill, running back Raheem Mostert, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, left tackle Terron Armstead and defensive back Alec Ingold. The Dolphins also added several talented veterans this offseason outside of Campbell: cornerback Kendall Fuller, safety Jordan Poyer, edge rusher Shaquil Barrett and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., to name a few.

“I feel like there’s a really good opportunity here,” Campbell said. “Very talented team across the field, both in attack and defense. I mean, when you look at the roster and who you have, I see so many people that I feel like we can really play together and really build the team chemistry that you need and be a force to reckon with… I’m not going to go crazy, but it will be a very good defense.

Campbell will also reunite with a familiar face in Miami, new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, who was Campbell’s coach for two of his four seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

“Huge, huge [selling point],” Campbell said of Weaver. “Because I definitely had some teams interested. And I feel like the main reason I wanted to come here was because I really believe in who Anthony Weaver is as a coach and in our relationship. We talked a lot during the process and he knows what I’m capable of doing. He understands my mind and how I see the game, and he trusts that.”

The 16 year old NFL The veteran has confidence in Weaver and the Dolphins in his 17th NFL season, which he hopes ends with him and Miami hoisting the elusive Vince Lombardi trophy.