Calais Campbell has seen this story before. He’s lived through starts just like the Arizona Cardinals’ first five games, in which high preseason expectations have given way to disappointing reality.
And he knows there are two pathways from here. The Cardinals can wilt. Or they can show the league a version of themselves that they still believe they’re capable of.
So, what does it take to resurrect a season?
“You’ve gotta have mentally tough,” Campbell said before pausing to contemplate his word choice.
“Mentally tough mother (expletive). I was gonna stop myself and correct myself and try to say ‘players’, but it doesn’t sound the same. You have to have mentally tough mother (expletive) that are willing to work to get better. Excuse my French.”
New Orleans Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler (2) tries to run past Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Calais Campbell during the second half of a game Sept. 7, 2025, in New Orleans.
And do the Cardinals have those, um, players?
“I believe so,” Campbell said. “Guess we’ll find out. Only time will tell.”
Campbell knows what that looks like.
In 2008, when he was a rookie, the Cardinals had a one-month stretch in which they went 1-4, including three losses by at least 21 points. They responded by going on the franchise’s only Super Bowl run since their move to Arizona.
In 2013, the first year under Bruce Arians, they started 3-4 before turning the season around to finish 10-6. That time, the Cardinals fell a game short of the playoffs — a reminder of the importance of early-season wins.
“When you give away games early, that’s the part that sucks,” Campbell said. “Cause it’s like now you’re 10-6 instead of 11-5 or 12-4 cause you gave away a couple ballgames early.”
Still, it was a turnaround made possible by the players inside the Cardinals locker room. Now, more than a decade later, Campbell sees similar possibilities when he looks around at the players next to him. Dalvin Tomlinson, Budda Baker, Mack Wilson, Josh Sweat and Paris Johnson are the ones who come to his mind.
“We have a group of guys,” Campbell said. “Now, it’s more than just five or six guys. It’s gotta be all 53 of us. Really, all 70 of us.”
Right tackle Jonah Williams is another veteran who’s seen what a turnaround looks like, albeit in another building.
Four years ago, he was on the Bengals when they went into the bye with consecutive losses to the Jets and Browns, the latter by 25 points. That week, ESPN wrote that the Bengals were facing an “identity crisis.” It was the common sentiment in Cincinnati — just not inside the Bengals facility.
“The biggest thing is not to ride the waves of the feelings,” Williams said. “… You can’t ride it down and then hope you can ride it back up. You just have to keep it steady.”
Three months later, that Bengals team was in the Super Bowl.
“We sort of have a unique ability in the NFL — and in football in general at a lot of levels — of just taking extreme accountability and just moving on,” Williams said. “And I know to you guys, this always sounds cliché. Everyone’s like, ‘Well we just need to trust the process and attack the next day.’ But genuinely, you do this long enough and that’s how you feel.”
This week, he’s seen that from the Cardinals.
“We were pissed off through Monday, and then at that point, it’s like, you’ve gotta flush it,” Williams said. “We’re playing the Colts, they don’t care if we beat Tennessee by 60 or lost by 60 or lost by one in the way that we did.”
Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Jonah Williams (73) lines up against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of a game, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Glendale.
In his news conference ahead of the Cardinals’ first practice of the week, Jonathan Gannon said that the energy in the team’s morning meeting was “dope as hell.”
“I couldn’t start the meeting on time because of the energy in the room,” Gannon said. “So that’s good to see.”
The players have echoed that message, particularly the younger ones who haven’t experienced a moment this low. Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson said, “the vibe is good” because the Cardinals know why they’re losing: self-inflicted mistakes. Marvin Harrison Jr. said that the team understands the importance of “moving on.”
The next step: making that matter in Week 6 against the Colts.
“We know we’re still a good team, so let’s go do it,” Williams said. “Let’s go prove it.”
