Josh Hines-Allen got a text Thursday morning that landed with a little extra weight.
Before heading out to Jacksonville Jaguars training camp practice, the defensive end heard from former teammate Calais Campbell, now with the Ravens. Campbell’s message was simple, direct, and exactly the kind of boost a pass rusher can appreciate.
"I actually got a surprisingly a great text this morning from Calais Campbell and right before I went out to practice, he said 'I love you Josh and you gonna lead the league in sacks this year.' For me, it's just even more validation that I'm on the right path mentally.
I got peers around me that see the same thing and I got a guy that I looked up to my whole career text me out of the blue while I'm thinking about it naturally. So for me, it's just to keep pushing and keep finding things to get better in and maximize off every opportunity that I can."
Campbell and Hines-Allen overlapped in Jacksonville for one season, Hines-Allen’s rookie year in 2019, after Campbell spent three years with the Jaguars from 2017-2019.
The message from Campbell wasn’t changing Hines-Allen’s mindset so much as confirming it. The sack leader chase was already on his mind, and he said the work this offseason has centered on sharpening his get-off and his hand usage.
"I told you, why not shoot for the top every year?" Hines-Allen said.
"And so for me. I didn't get it this year, I didn't get it yet, so that's kind of my mentality until I'm done playing football."
Hines-Allen was one of the league’s most disruptive edge defenders in 2025. According to PFF, he finished with 95 pressures, second among his position group behind only Aidan Hutchinson, and added 8.0 sacks.
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