Packers Officially Re-Sign De’Vondre Campbell

There have been some false starts in free agency this week, including by Za’Darius Smith, who backed out of a four-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

There were no such troubles with All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. Campbell agreed to re-sign with the Packers on Monday and officially put pen to paper on Thursday. It’s a five-year deal worth $50 million.

“In just one season, De'Vondre made an incredible impact on this team with his on-field performance and leadership,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said in the official team announcement. “We are excited that he is returning to the Packers to build upon last year and help lead our defense in the years to come.”

Keeping Campbell, despite the team’s massive cap problems, was a coup for Gutekunst. No different than getting him on a one-year, $2 million deal in June.

The Packers almost certainly wouldn’t have finished with 13 wins if not for Campbell providing the linebacker play the team had lacked for years – decades, even. Even while sitting out the season finale against Detroit, Campbell finished fifth in the NFL with 101 solo tackles and seventh with 145 total tackles.

Campbell was the only linebacker in the league with 100-plus tackles and at least two sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions. He tackled running backs. He covered tight ends. He was the glue to the defense.

According to Sports Info Solutions, 30 linebackers had 100-plus tackles. Of that group, Campbell ranked second with 4.5 yards allowed per target allowed in the passing game and first with a missed tackle rate of 3.3 percent.

Campbell was a welcome – and welcomed – addition to the Packers, something he felt immediately as well as when he first met quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the start of training camp.

“I’ve been a couple different places at this point and it’s little things,” Campbell said late in the season. “I remember my first day of training camp, I was sitting on the ground stretching and Aaron came up and introduced himself to me. At first, I was like, ‘Is he joking? I know who you are.’ It’s little things like that, like, nobody being too big. It’s just a blessing and an honor to be a part of such a historical organization. I’m just thankful.”

Campbell, who will turn 29 on July 1, had to swallow one-year deals with Arizona in 2020 and Green Bay in 2021 to get what he thought he was worth along.

“Everybody just kind of counted me out,” Campbell said in January. “I dealt with a lot of stuff last year in Arizona that I never talked about because nobody really cares. At the end of the day, people just care about results. I was just honest with myself. I was injured. I didn’t feel like I played the best, but I didn’t feel like I played terrible, but that’s not what everybody else thought.

“Honestly, I don’t really care about other people’s opinions but I just knew what was at stake, so I bet on myself, as I always will. I just felt like I needed to put myself in the best position to succeed, and not where I’m trying to learn three or four different positions at one time, because that’s tough on anybody. I wanted to go somewhere where I just had a simple job responsibility and I was just allowed to play football and be me, and that’s what the Packers told me they would let me do. They kept their word and I kept mine.”

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