While he’s been on a cross-team tour as of late, it seems that Calais Campbell is coming for a nostalgic experience as he returns to his first team in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals. The defensive tackle arrives as a promising addition to the Cards this season with the hopes of actually guiding its defense to a promising rise to prominence for a contender revival in the campaign.

Campbell has been a renowned performer on the big stage over the years, and he seeks to bolster a revamped pass rush for the Cards. The six-time Pro Bowl selection was expected to be on his way to retirement, but he instead turned the cards on the rumors and is expected to go all-out in his games now more than ever with the hopes of coming up with a much more productive 18th season.

Ranked 34th overall among the NFL’s Top 101 Free Agents of 2025, he sure does bring life to a promising roster by the Arizona Cardinals as he brings in his elite games to a squad that has a lot of impressive players to look out for. It is expected that he will find his value on the defensive end, where he’s been elite for most of his career.

A Historic Career

Beginning his career with the Cardinals in 2008, Campbell spent eight seasons with the team and was named to two Pro Bowls before moving on to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he earned three more Pro Bowl selections. He would then play a pivotal role on the Baltimore Ravens’ playoff defense for two seasons on one Pro Bowl selection.

Campbell would then spend his last two seasons on what was expected to be his last dance. He played for the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 and then the Miami Dolphins last season. He has been contemplating retirement for quite some time now, and it seems that he will be pondering about it in the coming season as he continues what has been a promising career in the NFL so far.

A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's All-2010s Team, Campbell was also the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year and the 2024 NFL Players Association Alan Page Community Award winner. That’s a lot of accolades to look out for so far in his already legendary career.

Return of the Real in Arizona

Campbell was selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2008 Draft. It was already a massive run in his first season as he played a huge role in leading Arizona to a Super Bowl run, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers in that campaign. He would then become a staple in the Cardinals lineup as its Pro Bowl defensive end in eight seasons.

With Arizona, Campbell managed to post 56.5 sacks, which ranks fourth all time for the franchise. Now that he’s bringing his game back under head coach Jonathan Gannon, it seems that Campbell is expected to perform at a high level and bring his veteran presence into play.

Campbell has played impressive ball so far – he did not miss a single game in the last two seasons, with his Miami run seeing him post 52 tackles and five sacks, which has been the spark for the Dolphins defense back then. His durability isn’t new as well, as he has played 261 games (242 starts) and never missed more than four games in a single season.