BRONCOS

Derek Wolfe texted Vance Joseph about Broncos signing Calais Campbell

Mar 14, 2023, 4:32 PM

The Broncos could use some more help on the defensive line.

Yes, they brought in Zach Allen on the first day of free agency, but they also lost Dre’Mont Jones to Seattle. And who better to bring home than an NFL veteran who’s had a phenomenal career, but is also from Denver?

Calais Campbell was released by the Ravens earlier this week, and is familiar with our area. The 36-year-old was a phenom at Denver South before playing his college football at Miami. Campbell’s been in the NFL the last 15 years, amassing 99 sacks, 809 tackles and and 16 forced fumbles. He’s bound for the Hall of Fame one day.

And recently, he played with Derek Wolfe in Baltimore. Wolfe, now a co-host on “The Drive” on 104.3 The Fan, may have done the Broncos a favor on-air on Tuesday afternoon. During his show, he put in a word to new defensive coordinator (and old head coach) Vance Joseph about trying to sign Campbell.

Here’s how it went down:

“I just connected ‘VJ’ and Calais,” Wolfe told DMac live on the show.

“So, you’ve got a little group text going on right now? You really did just connect them? Wow,” DMac said.

“Yeah, I’m telling you they should do it. I told him ‘you guys should bring Calais in.’ I’ll tell you exactly how the conversation went,” Wolfe noted. “I said ‘you guys should call Calais, he’s the perfect vet for your defense and a true leader. And he’s not going to be too expensive and he’s still a dog.’ And (Joseph) said ‘isn’t he a Denver guy? Text me his contact.’ So I did.”

After debating which high school Calais attended, it was indeed Denver South, the conversation continued.

“That would be full circle for him, I’d love that for him,” Wolfe said.

“Teams would be smart. It doesn’t happen that often, but if you can find a guy, role player, local guy who may want to wrap up his career where he started, you can get a discount on a guy unlike some other teams,” DMac said.

“I hope they do, that’d be great. Not just because I made the connection, because I know it’d be great for the team,” Wolfe said.

Again, with Jones leaving, the Broncos could use more help on the defensive line. Campbell’s getting up there in age for a football player, so the thought of coming home might be tempting. The Broncos went on an insane spending spree on Monday, so salary cap space could be tight, but that may not matter to Campbell.

We’ll see how it shakes out, but if he ends up back in Denver, you know who to thank.

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