Calais Campbell Speaks Out For First Time Since Mother’s Murder
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
Calais Campbell addressed his family’s tragedy publicly for the first time this week. He told reporters the past few months have been tough and asked for prayers to keep coming in.
The Ravens defensive end has stayed largely out of the spotlight since late June, when his mother, Nateal Campbell, 71, was found dead inside her Atlanta home during a welfare check.
His brother, Ciarre Campbell, 41, was charged with murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a knife in connection with her death, per ESPN.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, he expressed appreciation for the support he’s received over the past several weeks.
“I just want to say that these last couple months have been tough for me and my family,” Campbell said.
“But we’re working through it. And I appreciate all of the love, support and prayers,” he continued, asking everyone to keep praying for his family.
Campbell Missed The Start Of Training Camp
Campbell’s absence from the field carried directly into this summer’s preparations. The Ravens excused him from the opening week of training camp as he worked through the loss privately. He didn’t return to practice until early August, when he took part in individual drills for the first time.
Head coach Jesse Minter made clear the team wasn’t rushing him back. “We’re here for Calais, to get ready at the rate he can get ready at,” Minter said.
Campbell’s family shared a statement shortly after Nateal’s death, grounding their grief in faith.
“We are devastated to share that the Campbell Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell,” the family wrote at the time. “We take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
That same private posture carried through the following weeks. Details continued to emerge about the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death, even as Campbell himself stayed away from cameras.
A Milestone Season Now Carries Extra Weight
Campbell enters the 2026 season, his 19th in the NFL, on a one-year, $5.5 million contract he signed with Baltimore in May.
He’s spoken before about how much longer he expects to keep playing, previously telling reporters this stretch of his career could be his last. That milestone now arrives under far more difficult circumstances than he could have anticipated when he signed.
Off the field, Campbell has built one of the more respected reputations in the league, highlighted by his 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for his philanthropic work.
That reputation has only deepened the outpouring of support he’s received since the tragedy first became public in early July, with teams across the league, including the Ravens and his former team in Arizona, issuing statements of support in the weeks that followed.
Campbell didn’t set a timeline for when he expects to feel fully like himself again. For now, as he continues working his way back into football shape, he’s asking only that the support keep coming.
