The Atlanta Falcons got good-injury news on Monday. They announced defensive lineman Calais Campbell had passed his physical and removed from the non-football injury list.
Campbell has yet to take part in training camp, but early on, head coach Arthur Smith said it wasn’t a long-term problem. He expected Campbell back after 10 days or so.
It never appeared to be serious as Campbell was one of the first faces to greet the media on the first day of training camp.
He turns 37 next month, and the Falcons were always going to limit his action in the preseason to get as much from him during the regular season as possible.
At 6-8 and 300 pounds, Campbell is an imposing figure on the defensive line. He started 14 games in Baltimore last year and had 5.5 sacks. He played 550 snaps for the Ravens. By comparison, Lorenzo Carter had four sacks for the Falcons last year on 909 defensive snaps.
Campbell isn’t an every-down defensive lineman any more, but his physical presence and effectiveness at getting to the quarterback is a welcome addition to the Atlanta Falcons defensive line.
The Falcons made a concerted effort to bolster their defensive front in the offseason. In addition to Campbell, the Falcons signed defensive tackle David Onyemata from the New Orleans Saints and Bud Dupree from the Tennessee Titans.
Onyemata had five sacks for the Saints on 681 snaps, and Dupree chipped in four sacks on 453 snaps in 2022.
Atlanta also welcomes back third-year pro Ta’Quon Graham who was having a breakout-second season before getting hurt Week 11 against the Chicago Bears.
Atlanta is in action on Friday against the Miami Dolphins. They traveled to Miami on Monday to take part in joint practices with the Dolphins this week. They finish their trip in Miami with their first preseason game on Friday at 7 p.m. EST on FOX 5.
