# Elijah Campbell

Elijah Campbell (born August 24, 1995) is an American professional football safety and special teamer for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Iowa Western, Northern Illinois, and Northern Iowa, he signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He also played for the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and DC Defenders of the XFL.

## Early years

Campbell is the son of Jamal and Denna Hickman. He attended Saint Paul Central High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota. During his high school years, he lettered in football and track and field. He helped his team to an 8-1 record in 2012, rushing for 1,002 yards and 18 touchdowns. He racked up 69 tackles as a two-way athlete his senior season, adding six interceptions.

## College career

Campbell began his college career at the junior college role for the Iowa Western Community College football team. There, in 2014 he contributed to their undefeated season and played in the Junior College National Championship. He then transferred to play for the Northern Illinois Huskies football team in 2015. In his lone season at Northern Illinois, Campbell appeared in 13 games, mainly on special teams, recording five total tackles. After the season, he transferred again, this time to play for the Northern Iowa Panthers football team.
At Northern Iowa, Campbell won a starting safety role, starting 11 games in 2016, recording 42 tackles, three interceptions, six pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. He was named second-team All-MVFC for his performance.
As a senior in 2017, Campbell started 12 games at safety, recording 51 tackles, one sack, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, five interceptions, and 17 pass breakups. He was named first-team All-MVFC and third-team FCS All-American for his successful season.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 30+1⁄8 in (0.77 m) | 9+1⁄4 in (0.23 m) | 4.40 s | 1.64 s | 2.62 s | 4.06 s | 7.08 s | 39.0 in (0.99 m) | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) | 15 reps |
| All values from Pro Day ||||||||||||

### Cleveland Browns

Campbell signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL draft on May 4, 2018. He was waived before the start of the regular season on August 31.

### Birmingham Iron

Campbell signed with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) in November 2018. He made the roster out of training camp in February 2019, but after playing eight weeks of games, the league ceased operations the following April.

### DC Defenders

Campbell was selected by the DC Defenders of the XFL with the fourth overall selection in the defensive backs phase of the 2020 XFL Draft on October 16, 2019. He played in four games for the Defenders, and had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

### New York Jets

Campbell signed with the New York Jets' practice squad on November 3, 2020. He was elevated to the active roster on December 5 for the team's Week 13 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, and reverted to the practice squad after the game. He was promoted to the active roster on December 8. Campbell was waived on August 31, 2021.

### Miami Dolphins

Campbell was claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins on September 1, 2021. He was placed on injured reserve on November 27.
On March 8, 2022, Campbell re-signed with the Dolphins. He played in 16 games with one start at safety, mainly appearing on special teams. On March 7, 2023, the Dolphins tendered Campbell. He played in 15 games with one start at safety, again appearing mostly on special teams.
On March 8, 2024, Campbell was re-signed for his fourth season with the Dolphins.

## Personal life

On June 26, 2021, Campbell married his girlfriend, Anisse in Ham Lake, Minnesota after getting engaged in July 2019. The couple had a child on April 21, 2018 named Zakai. The Campbells own and operate several Florida-area franchises of the açaí bowl chain restaurant Nautical Bowls.