Posted by Darren Urban on May 10, 2012 – 4:31 pm

As promised, Calais Campbell has a new long-term contract.

The news just came down that the franchise tagged defensive end and the Cardinals have agreed on a new five-year contract, locking up Campbell through 2016 and making sure one of the anchors of the defense stayed put. Not that Campbell wasn’t going to be around in 2012 anyway, but this puts to rest the teeth-gnashing that Campbell could turn into Karlos Dansby the sequel. Campbell is now in place with a defensive line that saw good rookie progress in nose tackle David Carter, some hope in the play of nose tackle Dan Williams before he was hurt, and veteran Darnell Dockett.

More importantly, Campbell will enter his prime years with the Cardinals. Four years into his career, he played better (as did the whole defense) as the season went along last year. And the deal getting done now means Campbell will be back with his teammates quickly and certainly isn’t going to miss any OTAs or minicamp. The timing worked out well.

The other part of this? The last four players the Cardinals kept saying publicly they would soon be extending — Adrian Wilson, Dockett, Larry Fitzgerald and now Campbell — all got their extensions. Something to remember when analyzing what the team says about future players.

Tags: Adrian Wilson Posted in Blog