Cardinals Likely To Lose S Tony Jefferson & DE Calais Campbell In Free Agency

According to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic, the Cardinals are likely to lose S Tony Jefferson and DE Calais Campbell, as both players are expected to command big money in in free agency.

An agent with a free agent safety told Jason Cole of B/R that Jefferson is expected to secure around $7 million per year in his next contract. Cole, however, admitted that he believes this estimate is “way low.”

A source close to the situation tells Somers that Jefferson is more likely to get around $10 million or so per year in a long-term deal.

The Jets have come up as a potential landing spot for Jefferson, but there will certainly be other teams in the mix for him.

As for Campbell, Somers believes he could be looking at an even more lucrative contract. One estimate from earlier in the day indicated that Campbell could be targeting over $14 million per year.

We’ve seen the Broncos and Buccaneers tossed out as teams to watch for Campbell in the coming days.

Campbell, 30, is a former second-round pick of the Cardinals back in 2008. He played out the final year of his five-year, $55 million contract that included $17 million guaranteed and will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

In 2016, Campbell appeared in all 16 games for the Cardinals and recorded 53 tackles, eight sacks, an interception, three fumble recoveries with one being returned for a touchdown, two forced fumbles, six pass defenses and a safety. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 interior defensive lineman out of 127 qualifying players.

Jefferson, 25, wound up signing on with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma back in 2013. He returned to the Cardinals on a one-year, $1.671 million restricted tender last April.

He’s now in a position to test the open market as an unrestricted free agent.

In 2016, Jefferson appeared in 15 games for the Cardinals and recorded 96 tackles, two sacks, two recoveries, two forced fumbles and five pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 5 safety out of 89 qualifying players.

We have both of them featured in our Top 100 – 2017 Free Agents list.