Despite being in his 16th NFL season and 37 years old, Calais Campbell’s performance on the field this past Sunday belied his age.
The veteran recorded 1.5 sacks, a tackle for loss, and three quarterback hits. With two games left in the season, he already has 5.5 sacks and has been one of the best rush defenses all year. Calais Campbell is 37 years old, and most 37-year-olds would be out of gas, especially this late in the season, but he has only gotten stronger, leading Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to call him Benjamin Button.
Button notably aged backwards in the 2008 Brad Pitt movie, and that’s a reasonable analogy.
Let alone sixteen, most players are fortunate to play in the NFL for a few years at a high level. It seems that Calais Campbell’s Falcons contract might only be for one season as he prepares to retire. It doesn’t seem to be the situation anymore. He is still as committed to his trade today as he was when he made his professional debut with the Arizona Cardinals at the age of 22.
There is still so much that Calais Campbell can do, and he doesn’t appear to be considering retiring. He becomes a free agency this offseason, and the Falcons should use every effort to keep him. In just a single season, Atlanta’s defense went from being among the worst in the league to being ranked in the top 10. This is mostly due to Campbell’s presence across the defensive line, and having veterans like him is crucial for the younger players in this developing team.
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