While there has been, over the course of this odd and rocky offseason for the Dallas Cowboys, a move to get younger in many sports, there is still something to be said for a bit of veteran experience, isn’t there? Sure, the offensive line has been overhauled with what could be two rookie starters, and there figures to be at least one rookie or second-year linebacker in the rotation (maybe three), but there is something to be said for the old heads.
And it does not get much older than Calais Campbell by NFL standards, who at age 37, would rank among the 10 oldest non-kickers in the league. That’s if Campbell, a free agent, finds a team for 2024, at least. With the Cowboys looking for defensive line help and Campbell looking for a place where he can compete for a Super Bowl, there should, perhaps, be mutual interest.
That’s if the Cowboys could pry him away from the Falcons, who could yet re-sign Campbell if he does decide to play a 17th season. Still, at the Cowboys site Blogging the Boys, Campbell is tabbed as one of the, “3 post-draft moves the Dallas Cowboys should make to complete their roster,” in an article of the same name.
Cowboys Could Use Depth on the Defensive Front
Here’s what writer Brian Martin put forth on the subject of Campbell coming to The Star:
“At 37 years old, Calais Campbell is no longer the player he once was, but still has enough gas in the tank to help the Cowboys defensive front. Dallas is still painfully thin along the interior of their DL and Campbell’s addition would help tremendously. He’s still a great run defender and would be an excellent mentor.”
Campbell will go down as one of the great pass rushers of all time, and a likely Hall of Famer. He has been a six-time Pro Bowl selection and was the Sporting News Defensive Player of the Year for 2017. He has 105.5 career sacks, which is 48th all-time and is one of only 64 players in the history of the NFL to log more than 100 sacks.
In a headline this offseason, the New York Jets site Jets Press declared Campbell, “a future Hall of Famer.” Getting to Canton can sometimes be a weird process, but Campbell’s credentials are hard to argue.
The Cowboys have some talent on the defensive front, with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence on the edges and Osa Odighizuwa in the middle with Mazi Smith, who will be under pressure to perform after a lackluster rookie year, at nose tackle.
Dallas needs depth and leadership behind that front, though, and Campbell would be a quality addition on both fronts.
Calais Campbell Could Be Tempted by Falcons Return
But Campbell, who spent nine seasons with the Cardinals before going to the Ravens, Jaguars and, on a one-year deal for 2023, the Falcons might be inclined to stick with the Falcons after logging 6.5 sacks there.
Campbell logged a Pro Football Focus grade of 80.0 last season, which was more than respectable—it was 23rd among all 112 graded edge defenders.
New Falcons coach Raheem Morris has met with Campbell and left open the possibility of welcoming him back to Atlanta.
“I look forward to getting a chance to sit in front of him because he’s as impressive as it get when it comes to football character,” Morris said in March. “He’s had as impressive of a career as you can have. (There’s) stuff that he still brings to the game — to us — moving forward, and I look forward to discussing that in detail with him at a later date.”
But getting him in Dallas could be a nice score for the Cowboys.
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