MIAMI GARDENS — Calais Campbell has played 16 NFL seasons for four different teams since being taken in the second round of the 2008 draft by Arizona.

Now, the Miami Dolphins hope the former University of Miami star has enough left to help them refortify a defense that will be missing Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, who are recovering from serious injuries.

Campbell, 37, believes he can continue to be productive, despite his age. And that confidence comes with taking care of his 6-foot-8, 307-pound body.

"Guys are a lot smarter with that," Campbell said Wednesday following Day 1 of camp. "When I first got to the league it was a whole different mindset. Crazy thing about the changes … 16, 17 years I don't think that information was available back then. The amount of plays is different, the game has changed a lot.

"The last 10 years, five years for sure, (there's more) information throughout the locker rooms. I've had some of the guys ask me my routine and my plan and things I've tried. I'm always an open book I like sharing my knowledge."

Campbell could not cite one specific secret that has allowed him to play into his late 30s; rather, it's just using all that knowledge to his advantage.

"I've done so many different things," he said. "I couldn't give you one thing because I don't really know what was the main one. Just understanding how the body works with food and nutrition, the different supplements you can take and all the different machinery that's out there.

"I've spent a lot of time and effort in resources for my body. That's a big reason why I've been able to play well in my career. I've seen a lot more of that, guys starting playing better as they get older because of the way the science is. Taking care of your body."

We won't see Campbell play 600 snaps in 2024

As for still playing 600 snaps a season, Campbell said that's probably not in the plan. But not because he does not believe he could still do it.

"The team probably doesn't want me to be on the high level like that," he said. "But I think so."

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Campbell, who played last season with Atlanta after having his best years in Baltimore and Jacksonville — he is a six-time Pro Bowler and was The Pro Football Writers of America NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 — is in the getting-to-know you phase of this season.

"I'm not trying to come in and give speeches," he said, "just come in and learn people … understanding the terminology.

"I get the impression we can really play free. I think they did a good job in the spring of really getting guys prepared, understanding what we can do and what we can't do."

Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and golf reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins' Calais Campbell reveals secret to playing 17 seasons in NFL