Ted’s Talk: The Seahawks should look at signing an old rival

Calais Campbell has been a stud in the NFL for the last decade and a half.  Is he a fallback option if Leonard Williams departs in free agency?

I think Calais Campbell is awesome. He was a menace for the Seattle Seahawks offensive line twice a year from 2008-2016 when he was a member of the Arizona Cardinals. In 19 career games against the Seahawks (18 for the Cardinals and 1 for the Jacksonville Jaguars), Campbell tallied 11.5 sacks including a memorable 3-sack performance in handing Seattle their final loss of the 2013 Super Bowl season.

Here’s the thing – Campbell is still awesome.

Since his time in Arizona, he spent three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, and played on a one-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons in 2023. After accruing 56.5 sacks with the Cardinals over 9 seasons, Campbell added 49.0 sacks over the past 7 seasons.

As a reminder, he’s an interior defensive lineman. That’s insane production for any player let alone a guy who will turn 38 just prior to the 2024 regular season. Campbell’s got that old man strength, as evidenced below when he recorded his 100th career sack this past season.

He’s absolutely still got it…and could be available as he enters free agency in March. Campbell was “leaning towards playing again” back in January and admitted that he’ll have to see where he fits best after Atlanta’s coaching change.

Whether that fit is in Seattle or not may come down to the Seahawks own pending free agent interior defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Seattle traded a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to acquire the former New York Giants and New York Jets player at the trade deadline. Even though the Seahawks defense cratered after that point, don’t blame “Big Cat”. He was one of the few bright spots, picking up 4.0 sacks and 9 TFL in 10 games for Seattle.

It would be a bitter pill to swallow if Williams leaves in free agency given the draft capital used to acquire him but it’s also not that farfetched. He’s PFF’s 16th ranked free agent overall for 2024 and will probably command a contract in the general area of the one Seattle gave Dre’Mont Jones last offseason at 3 years, $51.5 million. Williams is 29 years old as opposed to Jones who was 26 at the time which might make a difference. Then again, Javon Hargrave got a contract with a $21 million per year average last offseason from the San Francisco 49ers at age 30 and the salary cap is higher this year than originally anticipated which could inflate contracts across the board. Can Seattle really afford to pay both Jones and Williams?

That’s where Calais Campbell could come into play. He signed a 1-year, $7 million contract last offseason with the Falcons and will probably command the same value this year according to PFF, who has him ranked as the 88th overall free agent. If Seattle can’t free up enough money for Williams, Campbell could be an excellent consolation prize.

Remember that he already has a relationship with new Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald since he played in Baltimore from 2020-2022. Macdonald was the linebackers coach in Campbell’s first year, when he made the Pro Bowl despite only playing in 12 games. Campbell’s lowest season sack total since his rookie year came in 2021 when Macdonald left to be the defensive coordinator for the University of Michigan. When Macdonald returned to Baltimore in 2022 to assume the role of defensive coordinator for the Ravens, Campbell rebounded with 5.5 sacks – his most in a season as a member of the Ravens.

Macdonald would know exactly how to use Campbell and I don’t think he would have to jerk John Schneider’s arm to try and bring him into the fold. In fact, Schneider name-dropped Campbell last offseason when talking about the addition of Dre’Mont Jones.

“We’ve been searching for that big, long 3-technique, a guy that can be an inside pass rusher with length,” Schneider said. “We were playing against Calais Campbell in Arizona for so long, we were like, ‘That body type, that physicality, we need that.’”

Instead of looking for a guy like that, why not just go get that guy?

I still haven’t mentioned the fact that Campbell is just a great dude and would be a fantastic addition to Seattle’s locker room. He won the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the 2022 Art Rooney Award, and the 2024 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award. Who wouldn’t want a guy like this to mentor the young players and help teach Macdonald’s defense?

Calais Campbell is a player I’ve watched from afar and coveted for a very long time. The HOF All-2010s Team member has been a dominant force on the field and a positive one off of it. Even better, he already has a relationship with Mike Macdonald and has been on the forefront of John Schneider’s mind. Depending on what happens with Leonard Williams, the stars might finally be aligning for Calais Campbell to suit up for the Seahawks.