Continuing our annual review of the Miami Dolphins’ soon-to-be free agents with a closer look at defensive back Elijah Campbell.
With Super Bowl LIX just a couple of days away, the NFL’s 2024 season is coming to a close. Over the next few weeks, everyone will focus entirely on the preparations for 2025, with the start of free agency just over five weeks away. Officially beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern on March 12, the new league year will allow players with expiring contracts to start joining other teams. Between now and then, teams have to make decisions on whether they want to keep their own soon-to-be free agents, or allow them to test the free agency market.
For the Miami Dolphins, those decisions include 32 players who may become free agents on March 12. Those include players who will be unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents, or exclusive rights free agents. Who will be re-signed before the current league year ends? Who will be franchise or transition tagged? Who will head out the door and to a new team?
Part three of our annual look at Miami’s scheduled free agents is here, returning us to the defensive side of the ball. Today, we will take a closer look at defensive back Elijah Campbell and let you vote on whether the team should bring him back or let him head into free agency.
Previous free agent reviews:
Biography
Elijah Campbell
Position: Safety
Age (when season begins): 30
Draft: 2018 undrafted; Signed by Cleveland Browns
Experience: 4 years
Previous Teams:
- Cleveland Browns (2018)
- New York Jets (2020)
- Miami Dolphins (2021-2024)
Note: Campbell was released by the Browns prior to the start of the 2018 regular season. He spent 2019 and 2020 with the AAF and XFL, respectively, before spending most of the 2020 season on the Jets’ practice squad.
Pro Bowls/All-Pro: None
Expiring Contract
1-year, $1.5 million
2024 Review
17 games played (1 start)
11 tackles
1 forced fumble
Campbell is a solid depth member of the Dolphins’ defense, with coaches often discussing him as being on the verge of breaking into a bigger role in the system, but then nothing materializes. He is a key member of Miami’s special teams, playing 290 snaps on special teams compared to just 76 on defense this year. Campbell os versatile and can be used in multiple roles in the back of the defense, but his defensive utilization went down in 2024, dropping from 13 percent of the defensive plays in 2023 to just seven percent for this past season.
2025 Outlook
Campbell’s 2025 may determine the rest of his career. Hitting free agency as an unrestricted free agent for the first time, will he be able to find a team that looks to him as a bigger part of their defense, or is he going to continue to be a depth piece that seems like he is on the verge of something, but is primarily a special teams player? He has indicated he would like to stay in Miami, but it will come down to the contract and what options he has when free agency begins. He wants to play more of a defensive role, which could happen in Miami where both of the starting safeties, Jevon Holland and Jordan Poyer, are also scheduled to be free agents.
Walk, Tag, Re-Sign?
Projected tag value (Safety): $19.6 million (franchise); $15.6 million (transition) (via OvertheCap.com)
Re-sign. The Dolphins have spent four years developing Campbell, now could be the time to see that investment pay off. At worst, he is a solid depth safety who plays well on special teams. But, even as he reaches 30 years old, the potential is there that he could play more of a role on defense, where the team could be seeing a major change at the safety position this offseason. His contract will likely be more than the $1.5 million it was this year, but he should still be an affordable piece of the defense the Dolphins can return, even in a salary cap-strapped season.
