Upon signing with the Jaguars, Calais Campbell was sold on their bedrock of young talent and viewed himself as the final piece of the puzzle.
Before that? He didn't even get a chance to speak with head coach Doug Marrone or executive vice president Tom Coughlin.
"Afterwards," Campbell told the MMQB. "After I signed I talked to everybody. But before I signed I didn't talk to anybody. I had talked to guys who played for them. I feel like that's the way to do it. The one person that has given me good advice over the years is my (Cardinals) D-Line coach, Brentson Buckner. He gave me a lot of advice over the last couple months concerning schemes and coaching staffs and how they use players."
Campbell said he instructed his agent to find out how he would be used during negotiations.
While it's not uncommon anymore, Campbell's remarks shine an interesting light on the early breakneck hours of free agency. The Texans signing Brock Osweiler sight unseen was the most high-profile case, but there are many players now inking long-term deals without taking the time to sit with the coaching staff first.
In Campbell's case, it reflects the savvy offseason and negotiating work done by general manager Dave Caldwell, who also roped in young cornerback A.J. Bouye. The move set the stage for the rest of the offseason -- one which has provided the most hope in recent years that the Jaguars will finally break out.
Campbell had a pretty high-profile choice to make between the Jaguars and the Broncos. Jacksonville offered the most money, but Denver had the track record and one of the best defensive players in football in Von Miller. Without some of those players in place, could we have seen Campbell change his mind?
"Playing with Von Miller was a big temptation," he said. "He's going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Playing next to a guy like that is a positive, because you feed off a guy like that. That would have been cool. Also, being home would have been a good situation. But you look at the division the Jaguars are in, the AFC South, and the players they're bringing in, and I felt like it could be an opportunity to go out there and leave my mark on a young team. I didn't want to go to Denver and just be one of the guys, which is cool. But I knew in Jacksonville I could add a lot more value."
The rest of Campbell's interview is worth your time and gets into a scheme change and what went down in Arizona. You can find the piece here.
