Marcel-Louis Jacques, ESPNS Sep 30, 2024, 06:00 AM ET
Marcel-Louis Jacques joined ESPN in 2019 as a featured reporter covering the Buffalo Bills, before moving to the Miami Dolphins in 2021. The former Carolina Panthers writer for the Charlotte Observer has won the APSE Breaking News Award and the South Carolina Press Association Award. For institutional writing in 2018.
MIAMI — Three days before the Miami Dolphins’ 2024 season opener, the media has rallied around offensive lineman Terron Armstead. He answered questions about sleep tracking and load management, and mocked the comparison to the NBA, where players sometimes take the night off to relieve a nagging injury.
He was asked if this practice would find its way into the NFL.
“No, that will never happen,” he said. “Never, never.”
He was then asked about teammate Calais Campbell — the oldest active linebacker in the NFL on both sides of the ball — and if there were any similarities in how they prepare their bodies for game day.
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A wide smile appeared on the 33-year-old’s face.
“Listen, I’m not in Calais, he’s in another category of veterans. I’m not there,” Armstead said. “Whatever he does, that’s what he does. What I do is what I do. He’s in his own world. This is the OG, Triple OG.”
This is correct. In his 12th NFL season, Armstead was a junior at Cahokia High School in Illinois when Campbell was drafted 50th overall by the Arizona Cardinals after three seasons at the University of Miami in 2008.
Campbell, now 38 and playing in his 17th season in the NFL, signed with the Dolphins this offseason. But as Miami prepares to host the Tennessee Titans on Monday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), Campbell’s love of the game and production has been a silver lining for a team in need of one. He made the most of his time on the court, despite playing the second-fewest percentage of defensive snaps of his career. Campbell leads the team in sacks, passes defensed and tackles for loss.
The average NFL career lasts 3.3 years, according to the NFL Players Association. Campbell has matched that five times, playing in 247 of a possible 261 regular-season games in his career. He has played more games than any active player except Cardinals tight end Matt Prater and Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis, and has played the fourth-most games of any defensive lineman in NFL history.
Campbell says he’s thought about retirement for the past four seasons or so. He has put a lot of effort into his preparation, so, if he decides to retire, he will do so knowing he gave it his all.
Retirement considerations don’t last long. Campbell loves the game and continues to play at a high level.
It’s hard to get away from that.
“If I feel like my level is declining, and I can’t be that guy, and I can’t perform well in the big moments, then it’s time to retire,” Campbell said. “But as of now, I felt like at the end of last year I was playing my best ball of the season,” he added.
Calais Campbell already has two sacks this season, his 17th in the NFL. Sam Navarro/Imagine Images
Campbell recorded a sack on Miami’s first defensive snap of the season, tracking down and tackling Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a 13-yard loss. It was the 106th sack of his career.
On the next play, the 6-foot-8, 307-pound lineman shot into a gap in the Jags’ line and brought down running back Travis Etienne for a 1-yard loss.
It was an exciting start to a day that was anything but for Campbell and the Dolphins.
Hours before the game, wide receiver Tyreek Hill was stopped outside Hard Rock Stadium for speeding, and was eventually handcuffed after failing to comply when an officer asked him to roll down his window.
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Campbell was driving and stopped. After being asked to step back from the situation, Miami-Dade Police Department Officer Danny Torres handcuffed him and threatened to arrest him. Passers-by recorded the quarrel and it spread on social media.
Torres, who also pulled Hill from his car and handcuffed him, was placed on administrative duty within hours of the incident, something Campbell said was “pretty much the way things should go.”
It was an unlikely scenario for a player known for his character, who won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2019 — an annual award that, the NFL says, is given to a player who has had a “significant positive impact on a community.”
Campbell did not want to elaborate on the situation when speaking to reporters after the game. He said he stopped at the scene to try to calm what he believed was “excessive force” by the officers involved.
He said that his dominant start to the match was not related to the events that preceded it.
“It has nothing to do with this situation,” Campbell said. “I told the players… my goal is to set the tone, set the tone for the whole season. Being 38 years old, I don’t know how much I’ve got in the tank. I was going out there and giving it everything I could. I did that, but I knew at the time Early in the game I can make a difference.
“It feels good. Definitely the questions you have when you start the season – Year 17, it’s like, can I still dominate? Can I still play a full game? And it was very good to be able to score some big goals.” “He plays to keep the game going.”
His unwillingness to leave his teammate in a delicate situation resonated within the Dolphins building. It’s an offshoot of the character Campbell, who was voted a leader in his first year in Miami, and has shown since joining the team.
Coach Mike McDaniel was concerned about holding Hill and Campbell but was proud of how his team was sticking together right now.
“That’s what you hope your team is made of,” McDaniel said. “Situations that you can’t plan for sometimes give you the best window into where your team is at. I’m so proud that they see each other as teammates and carry that about the way they do things. You spend so much time, you’re so involved in their life story You hope your teammates understand that we are an extended family.
“I was so happy that a man in that situation didn’t feel alone.”
Calais Campbell started 2024 strong, sacking Trevor Lawrence in the season opener. Sam Navarro/Imagine Images
The oldest defensive lineman to play in the NFL is Jim Marshall, who played 16 games for the Minnesota Vikings in 1970, at 42 years old. Campbell isn’t necessarily chasing that record.
Campbell recorded 56.5 sacks in his first nine seasons with the Cardinals, before he exploded with the Jaguars, recording 31.5 sacks from 2017 to 2019. His production declined in his three seasons with the Ravens, totaling 11 sacks from 2020 to 2022, but he responded. With 6.5 sacks in his lone season with the Falcons in 2024.
Campbell says there’s no set secret to his longevity. He says it starts simply with understanding the human body.
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“Man, I’ve done a lot of different things,” he said. “…I feel like I’ve become a biologist in terms of understanding the body a lot better. This has become a big part of what I do, and it’s worked so far. I hope it works for another year.”
Campbell has noticed a growing interest in players taking care of their bodies over the past 10 years or so. He expects to see a large number of them playing “dominant football” in their 30s.
“When I first got into the league, it was a completely different mentality. It’s crazy to think about the changes,” he said. “It was 16 or 17 years ago, and I don’t think the information was available back then. There were a lot of players, their mentality – even the amount of plays I made was different.
“A lot of guys have asked me about my routine, my plan, and things I’ve tried. I’m always an open book, always sharing my knowledge.”
Falcons linebacker Arnold Ebekiti said he often “shadowed” Campbell during his pregame routine last season and tries to implement Campbell’s routine to this day — including an increased emphasis on hydration. Campbell would often drink at least six large bottles of water each day, Ibikiti said.
Campbell takes care of his body at all times, Miami offensive lineman Kendall Lamm said.
“Even the days when the veteran is resting, he’s stretching, doing certain things. He’s juggling, working in the pool,” Lamm said. “People don’t understand. They think that when we’re in the building, this should be turned on—. No, no, no, no, no. If you want to do this for a long time, you have to do it when there are no eyes on you.”
McDaniel said the way Campbell works and prepares has an impact on his teammates.
“His teammates who are 15 years younger than him have a hard time not finishing practices, finishing plays, getting tired, or feeling energized to come to work every day when they watch him do it,” McDaniel said.
“I knew he was absolutely obsessed in terms of being able to play that position for so long at such a high level. I didn’t necessarily think about the natural impact that had on a day-to-day basis… I think he was in college when the iPod came out, and it’s pretty amazing that he He now carries out jobs that men were barely alive when he started doing this job and he does it side by side with them.
Campbell played 45% of the Dolphins’ snaps in their Week 3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, as the team looks to manage its snaps in its 17th season. He was efficient, however, with a sack, two quarterback hits and a pass deflection that led to an interception by Zach Siler in the third quarter.
He’s unlikely to see his workload undone as long as he can handle it. Weaver wants Campbell in the game during critical moments.
“You always want to make sure he plays in the game where you can feel like he can have the most impact,” Weaver said. “Sometimes there’s a good balance to it. You also want to do it, but don’t let it sit so long that it starts to stiffen, which is the case for any veteran player. So there’s an art to it. It kind of depends. [how] The flow of the game is going on.
“But the one thing you know is that if the situation is critical, there is a good chance Calais Campbell will be in the game.”
As long as Campbell needs to, he’s ready to play. Hydration and self-care aside, he’s still playing nearly two decades into his career for one reason.
He likes it.
“What I like about him is his real love for the game, man. He has a real love for the game,” Armstead said. “Calais, he breathes football. To have someone who’s excited to play this game after so many years, so many fights, so many double teams, but he still wants to go out and play this game, and just fly, just have fun — that’s unbelievable. It’s… “It gives you the energy to see that.”
