Stop me if you've heard this before, but a productive member of the Miami Dolphins' defense from the previous season is leaving for a new destination in free agency. That was the theme of the 2024 offseason with the losses of players like Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel, among others, and it's happened again in 2025. 
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, DE Calais Campbell is signing a one-year deal with the team that originally drafted him back in 2008 - the Arizona Cardinals. The deal is for $5.5 million with $2 million in incentives.
That's......just a bad miss by the Dolphins. No way to sugar coat that.
Campbell was a revelation last year in his 17th season for the Dolphins' defense. With Bradley Chubb missing the entire season and Jalean Phillips missing most of it with a season-ending knee injury in September, Campbell stepped up and played an impactful role on the Dolphins' defensive line, notching 52 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks to go with a Pro Football Focus grade of 82.3 in 17 starts. That PFF mark was the highest on the defense and the second highest on the entire roster.
A one-year deal for $5.5 million was a very affordable number for the Dolphins to spend, which makes the loss of Campbell problematic for either one of two reasons. The Dolphins low-balled Campbell below what he got, which would be truly inexcusable given the have the cap space (approximately $16.5 million, per OverTheCap.com) to have gotten a deal done. The alternative is perhaps worse - that the Dolphins extended him a competitive offer, but he felt he had a better chance to win in Arizona than he did in Miami.
Now, with the first wave of free agency well in the books, the Dolphins' defensive front is sticking out like a sore thumb that must be addressed in the draft with a potential impact player. Miami will also surely have their eye on releases throughout the year, including training camp, but Campbell was a proven commodity and a strong leader in the locker room. That and the on-field production should have made him a priority to bring back, but general manager Chris Grier couldn't get it done.
The draft had better be a strong one, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, for Grier and his staff later this month in Green Bay, because a key piece to a good 2025 on the defensive side of the ball is heading elsewhere.
