At 38 years old, Miami Dolphins defensive end Calais Campbell holds the title of the oldest player on the team. But he has still made a major impact for the Dolphins in his first season with the squad despite his advanced age.
He is in a tie with Kendall Fuller for the sixth-most total tackles of any player on the team to this point with 33. Additionally, he leads the Dolphins in sacks with four and also has a team-high nine tackles for loss.
In light of Campbell’s performance against the Las Vegas Raiders in which he totaled a sack along with two combined tackles and one tackle for loss, Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith made a comparison between him and Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James in the sense that both are seemingly defying Father Time with their quality of play right now.
"@CalaisCampbell is one of my favorite teammates that I've ever had..
He's the best leader that I've ever been around and I would go thru a brick wall for him" @Easymoney_81 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/NOKlQNMTdl
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 18, 2024
“I’ll say this man — Calais is one of my favorite teammates in all the sports that I’ve played,” Smith said. “One of my favorite teammates in all the sports that I’ve played. He, to me — I think I said this the other day — he’s like the LeBron James of the NFL right now. You know what I mean? Just as far as his age and his production that he brings to the game — still playing at a high level.”
Perhaps just as impressive as Campbell’s production for the Dolphins since the start of the campaign has been his availability. He has started every one of Miami’s 10 regular-season contests to this point.
Before he joined the Dolphins, Campbell previously played for the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona Cardinals. Campbell also made six Pro Bowl appearances earlier on in his NFL career.
While Campbell is an aging yet productive player like James is in the NBA, it’s up for debate if the former deserves to be in the same sentence as the latter.
Campbell has long been a great NFL player, but James is maybe the best player in the history of the NBA. James has also played in the NBA far longer than Campbell has competed in the NFL.
The four-time NBA champion is in his 22nd season playing professional basketball, while Campbell is in the middle of his 17th NFL season.
Campbell will try to continue to prove through his play that age is just a number when the Dolphins face the New England Patriots on Nov. 24. A win against New England would balloon Miami’s current winning streak to three games and have the team one win away from reaching the .500 mark at 5-6.
