Jaguars trade defensive end Calais Campbell to Ravens

Calais Campbell (Bigmanclay04, Wikimedia Commons)

The Jacksonville Jaguars have traded defensive end Calais Campbell to the Baltimore Ravens. In a deal that was announced on Sunday, the Jaguars will receive a fifth round draft pick in the 2020 National Football League Draft in return.

Campbell, a native of Denver, Colorado, will be joining his third NFL team. In addition to three seasons with the Jaguars, he also played his first nine NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. A five-time Pro Bowler (with the Cardinals in 2014 and 2015 and the Jaguars in 2017, 2018 and 2019), Campbell was a first team All-Pro with the Jaguars in 2017.

Last season Campbell played 16 games for the Jaguars. He had two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one fumble for a touchdown, 56 combined tackles, 37 solo tackles, 19 assisted tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and 25 quarterback hits.

Campbell had forced fumbles in two Jaguars losses. The first came in a 13-6 defeat to the New Orleans Saints on October 13. Despite the Saints being without quarterback Drew Brees and with backup Teddy Bridgewater in control, this game turned out to be a surprisingly defensive battle when you consider how many offensive weapons the Saints had this past season.

The second forced fumble for Campbell came in a 42-20 Jaguars loss to the Tennessee Titans on November 24. That game for the Titans was their second win of a four game winning streak which helped them surprisingly make the 2020 NFL playoffs. A major reason why the Titans reached the postseason had to do with the prolific quarterbacking of Ryan Tannehill, who signed a four year contract worth $118 million on Sunday.

Meanwhile in 2019, Campbell also had an eight yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in the Jaguars’ 38-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on December 29. This was Campbell’s third career touchdown as the other major scores came with the Cardinals in 2016 and the Jaguars in 2017.

At 33 years of age, Campbell seems to still be playing football at a high level. At 6’8″, 300 pounds, it will be mighty interesting to see how he fits into a Ravens squad that is known for its stingy defensive play.