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The Jacksonville Jaguars agreed to a puzzling trade on Sunday, sending Pro Bowl defensive lineman Calais Campbell to the Baltimore Ravens for no more than a fifth-round draft pick. Campbell is one of a handful of players who have created 6.5 or more sacks and 50-plus tackles in each of the last three years — another one is New Orleans Saints captain Cameron Jordan, who took aim at the Jaguars for jettisoning such an important piece of their defense.
Jordan lambasted the Jaguars for their lack of loyalty to Campbell; he pointed out Campbell’s contributions on the field and off of it in Jacksonville, and criticized them for not appreciating Campbell’s influence in the locker room, as “the vet leader that they didn’t deserve but had at (the) helm.”
It’s easy to see why this stings so badly for Jordan. Campbell is someone he’s long admired, having watched the big defensive end’s NFL career start with the Arizona Cardinals while Jordan was a student at nearby Chandler High School. They have similar styles of play and levels of production, and Jordan obviously has a lot of respect for what he’s accomplished.
Fortunately, this isn’t a scenario that Saints fans should have to see play out. Jordan signed a contract extension last summer that ties him to New Orleans for the foreseeable future; he’s one of the best players on a team whose arrow is still trending up, towards yet another year of Super Bowl contention. While the Jaguars may be willing to sacrifice fixtures of their franchise for unclear reasons, Jordan and the Saints are very much in the business of competition.
These teams ain loyal!!! Calais gave em 31.5 sacks in 3 yrs… not to mention was the vet leader that they didn’t deserve but had at helm 👀😶 smh https://t.co/m2Ku4qY2Sp
— cameron jordan (@camjordan94) March 15, 2020
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