Even in Year 18, Calais Campbell is Still Winning Games for Arizona Cardinals

“It’s been a long time since I played in this stadium as a Cardinal. It felt good. Coming out onto the field and running out of the tunnel, that’s when the emotion hit me,” Campbell told reporters following Arizona’s win.

“I was doing the same things as I was a long time ago when I was a young, athletic man. I turned up, I felt great out there. I felt the love from the crowd ... that was awesome. Going down to the end zone, praying like I do and seeing all those familiar faces and people with my jersey ... I felt all the love. It was pretty surreal.”

In cases like this, a veteran coming back for one last ride, they’re merely a morale and leadership guy, but that hasn’t been the case with Campbell on the Cardinals.

The 39-year-old ranked as the third-best defender on the Cardinals in their win over Carolina, totaling a 77.0 Pro Football Focus grade. With a major improvement over Week 1 at New Orleans, that begs the question: Did playing in front of the Red Sea again rejuvenate Campbell into leading his team to victory?

“Being able to make a play at the end of the game while having the crowd go wild was a really good feeling. That will never get old,” Campbell explained.

It wasn’t just the play at the end either, as the veteran defensive end was making plays throughout the contest. He totaled two sacks, two hurries and three tackles in 37 snaps against the Panthers, providing a much-needed presence from start to finish.

“Today, I was much better. I felt much better. I'm doing a lot of cardio so it really paid off. The coach did a really good job of rotation, a lot of plays early. I kind of wanted to be in there, but I had to tell myself, ‘Pace yourself. Pace yourself,’” Campbell said.

“That's a little bit of a humbling experience as an older player. I wish I could be out there every play, but we have a good team, a deep roster of D-linemen, and we all went out there and took turns making plays. I felt good.”

Campbell's leadership and skill were the difference against Carolina

With an inspired performance inside a building that shaped his career, it was only fitting that Campbell was the one to make the big play to clinch the victory for the Cardinals. The fans went crazy not only because Arizona improved to 2-0, but because one of the most beloved Cardinals in recent memory made it happen.

“Yeah, huge play obviously. It's a got-to-have-it there and we needed it. We definitely needed it, and he came up big. He played good the whole game, I thought,” head coach Jonathan Gannon said after Arizona’s win.

And a huge play it was, as with Campbell’s sack of Bryce Young, Arizona sealed the victory and could finally exhale. It wasn’t pretty late in the second half, but with veterans like Campbell, there wasn’t a panic on the Cardinals’ sideline. Even when Carolina had an opportunity to win it with a touchdown on its final drive, Campbell stayed poised.

“My mindset is, it's never over until it’s over. Hoping that we got the onside kick, hoping that we could end the game, but they made a play. It was a great play. You've got to tip your hat to them, but at the end of the day, we found a way to win.”

With Campbell’s leadership coupled with what he can still do on the field, it’s no question that he was an incredibly important addition to make in the offseason. He won’t be the Campbell of old, and that’s OK, but to say that he’s too old to compete at a high level couldn’t be further from the truth.

He proved it on Sunday with his game-clinching sack. Calais Campbell is happy to be back in Arizona, and he’s helped the Cardinals get out to a 2-0 start to the 2025 season.