The Baltimore Ravens will look to improve their team in many different aspects during the 2022 offseason. There are many different avenues to do so, including free agency, the draft and even by making trades.
One Baltimore player slated to hit free agency in a few weeks is defensive lineman Calais Campbell. The veteran made it be known on “Sky Sports” that he will be returning to the NFL for a 15th season, despite weighing his football future in press conferences at the end of the year.
Now that it’s known that Campbell is coming back, the Ravens will have a decision to make. With the veteran set to hit the open market, the question now becomes if the team should re-sign one of their defensive leaders or let him walk. There are multiple factors that go into something like that.
For one, Campbell will be turning 36 years old in September. He played the most snaps out of any Baltimore defensive lineman during the 2021 season with 617 across 14 games, something that can’t happen if he is brought back for his 15th year.
With Campbell’s age and likely decrease in snaps taken into account, the Ravens will have to decide how much money is appropriate to give him. The veteran had a $13 million cap hit in 2021, and for a player that will likely see less usage than he’s used to, that number is far too much. However, if Baltimore can find a price point that works for both sides, then bringing Campbell back is a no-brainer.
Campbell was brought to the Ravens to be a force in the run game and generate interior pressure. While he’s been great as a run defender, his sack numbers have slipped considerably compared to his career production outside of Baltimore. He’s only accumulated 5.5 sacks during his two years with the Ravens, a far cry from his 88.5 sacks that he generated in his 12 prior years in the league, including 31.5 in three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
All in all, Baltimore will likely undergo some sort of personnel shift on their defensive line. There could be free agents and draft picks that are brought in to help push in a new era of defensive football for the team. However, it’d be wise to have one or two veterans still on the line, and if Campbell is willing to come back at a price that works, his production and leadership would be worth having for 2022, even if he’s not on the field as much.