Calais Campbell will attempt to submit a Hall of Fame closing argument where his NFL career began, reuniting with the Cardinals last week. The decorated defensive lineman passed on Dolphins and Ravens offers to return to Arizona.
The Cardinals let Campbell walk in 2017, when he finished off the Jaguars’ “Sacksonville” D-line stable, but a new Arizona regime made an effort to bring him back into the fold last year. Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort attempted to reacquire Campbell via trade, the 38-year-old D-lineman said (via ESPN.com’s Josh Weinfuss). That moved the Cards back on Campbell’s radar, as he played out last season in Miami.
Baltimore also attempted to reacquire Campbell for the stretch run last season; Mike McDaniel played a lead role in nixing that. The Dolphins and Ravens extended offers, as the late-30-something defender has remained a healthy and productive player despite nearing retirement, but Campbell will help a new batch of Cards teammates attempt to continue an Ossenfort-Jonathan Gannon-era progression.
Only long snapper Aaron Brewer remains in place from Campbell’s previous Cardinals tenure, but he will join a new cast of front-seven pieces on a team that has made a stronger effort to fortify these areas this offseason. After no player topped six sacks following a 2023 offseason that featured the losses of J.J. Watt and Zach Allen, the Cardinals signed Josh Sweat and brought back 2024 trade acquisition Baron Browning. Sweat, Browning and BJ Ojulari join Zaven Collins on the edge. Campbell will team with 2024 first-rounder Darius Robinson up front, and more help may be coming early in the draft.
Multiple scouts informed ESPN.com’s Matt Miller a difference-maker on defense early in the draft is likely to be a priority. This strategy did not pay significant dividends in the recent past, with Haason Reddick (during most of his rookie deal), Isaiah Simmons and Collins not making big impacts upon being first-round Cardinal draftees. The Cards, however, took a major step forward under Gannon and Nick Rallis in Year 2 of this partnership, moving from 31st in points allowed in 2023 to 15th in ’24. This came without a reliable pass rush, something the team’s pre-draft visit schedule appears to be highlighting as an area the team is still interested in bolstering.
While the Cardinals could look to trade down due to having only six picks in this draft, the team should be expected to keep bolstering this unit. Although a wide receiver to complement Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride would make sense, the team is unlikely to stop at Sweat in terms of big-ticket defensive additions.
Elsewhere on the Cardinals’ cap sheet, the team’s latest Kelvin Beachum‘s one-year contract is worth $4MM, Cards Wire’s Howard Balzer notes. Heading into his sixth season with the club, the veteran swing tackle will receive $3.49MM guaranteed on his latest Cards agreement. Balzer adds Trey McBride‘s landmark extension features a key date in 2026. After two fully guaranteed base salaries, McBride will see $3MM of his $10.53MM 2027 base salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the ’26 league year.