By most measures, Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell is having a very good year. But there are a couple of numbers working against him and, that could mean rumors will grow that his time in Green Bay is growing short.
The numbers: eight and 30.
The first is the number of games he has missed in the last two seasons with injury, including the Week 3 game against New Orleans in which he injured his ankle after 11 snaps. The second number is Campbell’s age, and anyone who has watched the Packers overhaul the roster in the past nine months knows that being 30 in Green Bay (the NFL’s youngest team) these days is a major negative.
Only three Packers, including injured lineman David Bakhtiari (who may not return to the team), are over 30. Preston Smith is the other.
Longtime Packers reporter Pete Dougherty was asked about Campbell’s future in his mailbag this week, and the answer was surprising, given that Campbell was an All-Pro just two years ago in 2021. Dougherty was asked “if this was it” for Campbell, and he did not rule out a conditional return next year. Maybe.
“Not sure if this is it for Campbell, very well might be, turned 30 this year, has had several injuries the last 1½ seasons, those are all big concerns,” he wrote. “I could maybe see them trying to squeeze another year out of him, depending on how high they draft an ILB next April.”
Could De’Vondre Campbell Be Subject of Packers Rumors?
Campbell has been a solid piece for the Packers since the team picked him up in 2021 on a bargain deal worth $2 million for one year. After he earned All-Pro honors, the Packers gave him a five-year, $50 million contract, with an out after the 2024 season. He has a $14.4 million cap hit for next year, which could make trading him difficult. Thus, it may make more sense to squeeze another year out of him.
But there will be a number of Packers rumors cropping highlighting how the team can save much-needed cap space in 2024, and Campbell is a possible means to that end.
If Green Bay invests in a linebacker early in the draft, as Dougherty mentioned, there would be added incentive to move on from Campbell. And the Packers will have the ability to do just that, with seven picks in the first four rounds of next year’s NFL draft.
It is worth noting, though, that there are no linebackers considered to be sureshot first-round prospects, and there is only one—Edgerrin Cooper of Texas A&M—who falls in the first two rounds of the draft in Pro Football Focus’ prospect rankings.
Linebacker’s Bargain Days Running Short
For this season, at least, there is no question that Campbell is a bargain. He and the Packers restructured his contract in March, and lowered his cap hit to $5.5 million, which is 33rd among NFL linebackers, according to Spotrac. But Campbell has a Pro Football Focus grade of 80.9 this season, which ranks him 16th among the league’s 81 linebackers.
When healthy, Campbell has been effective, and played 100% of the Packers snaps in Week 9, following a Week 8 in which he played 93% of snaps and had 14 tackles.
He won’t be as much a bargain next year, though, when his cap hit is projected to be $14.4 million, 20th among linebackers. Thus, the anticipated Packers rumors about his future.
That’s especially true if the injury troubles keep up. Campbell’s ankle injury hampered him for half this season, and last year, it was a knee injury that cost him four games. De’Vondre Campbell is still an effective player, but given his injury history and his age, well, this very well might be it for him and the Packers.
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