Arizona Cardinals: Likelihood that free agents return

Defensive End Calais Campbell

Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell has been one of the league’s best 3-4 defensive ends since the Cardinals selected him in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. He has also been a fan favorite for both his on-field performance, and his off-field character.

Though his excellence has sometimes gone underappreciated by those outside of Arizona, he has consistently graded well above average for his position. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Campbell’s 2016 overall grade of 90.4 was second among interior defenders, behind only Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.

Unfortunately, the feeling has long been that Campbell is likely to move on, and reports are popping up left-and-right indicating that Campbell will, indeed, sign elsewhere. The problem is not that the Cardinals are not interested in re-sign Campbell, but rather that their offer is not likely to be good enough to entice the aging free agent to return to the desert.

It’s still possible that Campbell could decide to offer the Cardinals a hometown discount, but I would not hold my breath waiting for it to happen.

Likelihood of returning: 15 percent