Calais Campbell was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals on April 26, 2008. He was the 50th player taken off the board that year. Ironically, for every player that was drafted before him in the 2008 NFL Draft, that's how many quarterbacks (and even a couple more) Campbell has sacked since then.
Over the span of 15 years in the league, Campbell has played for four different organizations, making an impact on and off the field with the Cardinals, Jaguars, Ravens and Falcons. He has made it to six Pro Bowls. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2017, a Bart Starr award winner in 2019 and an Art Rooney award recipient in 2022. Campbell was a Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2019.
There are many who say Campbell has a gold jacket waiting for him in Canton, Ohio, when he finally does decide to retire.
However, there was something he had yet to do when the 2023 season began – record his 100th career sack.
He did so on Oct. 15, sacking Commanders' quarterback Sam Howell in the second quarter of the Falcons' Week 6 game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. In that moment, Campbell Dirty Bird danced his way into the record books, becoming just the 42nd player in recorded NFL history to reach the century mark in career sacks.
The 100th sack of Campbell's career was 16 seasons in the making. So, in celebration, join Campbell on this interactive journey through his own sack history, with the man himself as your guide.
Below are five different stories, all acting as their own little time machine, dropping you in a different point in time along Campbell's epic journey.
Hear the tales of vanquished quarterbacks, and even the legend of the quarterback who got away. Take a step inside Campbell's mind as he takes readers through his motivations and successes as he weaves the stories together of his first sack, his favorite sack and his 100th sack.
Come and go as you please. Read a tale here or a story there, but take time to read them all. And if you decide to return later? Remember what Campbell himself said: These 100 sacks? They're not going anywhere.
"This," he said, "is forever."
