{"id":726520,"date":"2026-06-10T03:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T03:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726520\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T03:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T03:20:08","slug":"calais-campbell-still-loves-football-at-39-expects-19th-nfl-season-with-ravens-to-be-his-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726520\/","title":{"rendered":"Calais Campbell still loves football at 39, expects 19th NFL season with Ravens to be his last"},"content":{"rendered":"

Calais Campbell<\/a> rejoined the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> this offseason for his 19th NFL season.<\/p>\n

The six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro expects it to be his last. But he’s not certain.<\/p>\n

“This year, I feel as strongly as ever that this is probably going to be my last year,” Campbell told reporters Tuesday, per The Athletic<\/a>. “I know I said that last year and the year before. I genuinely mean it at the time, but I always tell myself to play well enough to be able to get a job again if I want to.<\/p>\n

“If I go out there and perform to the level I want to play, I’m probably going to have to turn somebody down next year. That’s the ideal scenario. At that time, I’ll decide if I want to play again or not.”<\/p>\n

Campbell has produced an accomplished career that includes six Pro Bowls and three All-Pro selections, and he has more than $150 million in career earnings<\/a>. He returned last season to the Arizona Cardinals<\/a> team that drafted him and with whom he played in a Super Bowl with as a rookie after the 2008 season.<\/p>\n

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So why does he want to return this season at 39 years old after what could have been a career bookend season in Arizona? It’s a question he says he hears from players, coaches, fans and his family. His answer is simple.<\/p>\n

He still loves the game. And teams keep signing him.<\/p>\n

“Everybody’s just like, why you keep doing this?” Campbell said. “I think the only answer I can really say is I love the game. I love it. I’m still fairly good at it. And they still want me to play. So why not?”<\/p>\n

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Campbell, indeed, remains a difference maker who’s started all but one of the games he’s played in since his rookie season. He’s recorded five-plus sacks in each of his last four seasons.<\/p>\n

He’s hoping to remain a force for a Ravens team he previously played with from 2020-22. And he has one significant hole to fill on his r\u00e9sum\u00e9. He played in a Super Bowl as a rookie, but he doesn’t have a Super Bowl ring.<\/p>\n

He’ll line up for a Ravens team looking to break through for the first Super Bowl of the Lamar Jackson<\/a> era, a scenario that could add up a sweet swan song for Campbell if they succeed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Calais Campbell rejoined the Baltimore Ravens this offseason for his 19th NFL season. The six-time Pro Bowler and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[1258,64,63,631,35195,628,593,3752,85,7508],"class_list":["post-726520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-calais-campbell","tag-lamar-jackson","tag-nfl","tag-rookie-season","tag-sports","tag-super-bowl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}