Category: Cameron Jordan

Saints GM Mickey Loomis is prioritizing an extension with Cameron Jordan

Mickey Loomis is prioritizing an extension with Cameron Jordan: ‘When he talks about retirement, I think he’s thinking it’s years down the road, and so am I’

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Mickey Loomis doesn’t often put his cards on the table, but he’s doing just that in talking about Cameron Jordan’s future with the team. The New Orleans Saints general manager raved about his team’s Pro Bowl defensive end during an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio this week with hosts Solomon Wilcots and Bill Polian.

“He’s going to be able to play for us as long as he wants to and as long as he can,” Loomis said bluntly. “Then when the time comes, his name will be up in that Ring of Honor and the Hall of Fame and all those other accolades that come with a player of his stature.”

Jordan is on track to be a free agent for the first time in his career next offseason, and he’s currently carrying the highest salary cap hit on the team with a $15.1 million charge for the 2023 season. That can’t really be restructured or spread out again, with the Saints having done so repeatedly in recent years, so it makes sense for both sides to reach a compromise on another extension.

He’s also one of the most decorated players in team history. Jordan has bagged seven or more sacks in 11 consecutive seasons from 2012 to 2022, the longest streak in the NFL, which helped him surpass Hall of Fame linebacker Rickey Jackson for the franchise sacks record last year. He’s exactly the kind of player the Saints should build their team around, even in the last leg of his career. But Loomis isn’t so sure Jordan is ready to move on from football just yet.

“We keep counting on Cam Jordan. Everybody says, ‘Well, maybe this is it,’ but he just keeps going,” Loomis continued. “He’s the (Energizer) Bunny, right? Doesn’t miss time, just keeps playing, keeps being productive, one of the better ends in our league. And so we’re excited to have him back again.”

Will an extension materialize? Both sides are probably motivated to get it done. Beyond Loomis’ own words, reports have already flown around signaling the Saints’ intent to get a deal done before training camp. Jordan would like the long-term stability for himself and his family, who he just took on a monthlong road trip through Spain in search of somewhere warm after last year’s freezing game in Cleveland. Even if he isn’t as impactful a pass rusher as he once was, Jordan is still a consistent defender and a cornerstone of the Saints defense, and Loomis wants it known how highly they value him.

“When he talks about retirement,” Loomis finished, considering his words carefully, “I think he’s thinking it’s years down the road, and so am I.”

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Report: Saints working to extend Cameron Jordan before training camp

The AP’s Brett Martel reports the Saints are working on a contract extension with Cameron Jordan before training camp. This would ensure he ends his career in black and gold:

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This could be big: Brett Martel reports for the Associated Press that the New Orleans Saints are working towards a contract extension with Cameron Jordan, aiming to sign a new deal before the team kicks off training camp in late July. Martel adds that Jordan’s agents are looking for an extension “of at least two years.”

Jordan, who turns 34 on July 10, is in the final year of his contract with a salary cap hit valued at $15.1 million — highest on the team. If his deal remains untouched, it will void after the 2023 season and he’ll become a free agent while leaving more than $23.3 million behind in dead money due to restructuring from his past contracts.

So it makes sense to try and get out in front of that, move more money around, and try to set up Jordan to play out his career in New Orleans. He’s been everything the team could have hoped for when they drafted him back in 2011. Jordan has appeared in eight Pro Bowls while rarely missing a game.

He also won the team’s all-time sacks record last season (though the great Rickey Jackson is unofficially still ahead of him with 8 more sacks from his 1981 rookie season, with the stat not being officially tracked until 1982). Ensuring Jordan never wears a different uniform in the NFL while giving him the opportunity to silence any question about who holds the Saints sacks record would be good for all involved.

So both sides are motivated to get this done. We’ll see if they can close the deal.

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Cameron Jordan says brutal Cleveland snow game led to monthslong Spain vacation

Cameron Jordan says a Cleveland snow game led to his vacation to Spain, where he’s biked, wined, dined, and had a run-in with a ‘Tampa Bay bozo’ at a Michelin-starred restaurant

The New Orleans Saints might have a tough time prying Cameron Jordan out of the Spanish countryside. Their defensive captain was so shaken by the first snow game of his football career that he and his wife Nikki packed up their kids and took the family to Spain for a month. Then two.

Playing in Antarctic conditions was a thoroughly miserable experience, but at least the Saints left with a win over the Cleveland Browns. Jordan told WWL Radio’s Jeff Nowak that spending his Christmas Eve in the brutal wind and snow has made Cleveland a place he’ll never return.

“And I was looking at the fans (huddling for warmth in the stands), I was like, much respect. Because there is no amount of money that could ever make me play for this team,” Jordan said. “Like, you could be like Cam, I have $58 million a year for you, an unprecedented amount, you’ve never been paid this much for 1 year of football. And I’d be like, thank you very much. If there’s 50 on the table here, there’s got to be 40 on the table somewhere in a warmer climate. Thank you, I’ll be leaving.”

That below-freezing afternoon sent Jordan looking for somewhere warm. After visiting Rio De Janeiro for Carnival celebrations, the family traveled to Spain. They haven’t been stateside since February, though Jordan says they’ll be home in time for the Saints offseason program to begin in earnest.

In the meantime, they’ve made stops in Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona, San Sebastian, and Seville. The Jordans have gone cycling in the Spanish countryside, toured cultural heritage sites, attended pro soccer games, and yucked it up with other tourists (Jordan had to laugh off an encounter with one “Tampa Bay bozo” at Etxebarri, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Bilbao).

Here’s some of the highlights Jordan has shared from their adventures abroad on social media:

No one is happier about the Bryan Bresee pick than Cameron Jordan

No one is happier about the Bryan Bresee pick than Cameron Jordan, who got the defensive line help he’s been asking for:

Cameron Jordan is vacationing with his family in Spain right now, but that didn’t stop him from setting alarms to check in on his New Orleans Saints’ haul in the 2023 draft — even if it meant waking up before sunrise across the Atlantic Ocean.

And he couldn’t be happier about the team’s first-round pick. Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee is bringing the help up front that Jordan has been looking for. Jordan had the Saints picking three defensive tackles in his seven-round mock draft, so yeah, he saw this as a big need.

The Saints’ interior got pushed around a bit last year, and the team allowed three of their top four players at the position (David Onyemata, Shy Tuttle, and Kentavius Street) to leave in free agency, so he knew it would be a priority. Adding Bresee to the rotation with Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders is a big step in the right direction.

So it’s safe to say Jordan is eager to get to work. We’ll let him tell it:

Cameron Jordan tried his hand at a seven-round Saints mock draft

Cameron Jordan tried his hand at a seven-round New Orleans Saints mock draft, trading down twice and picking three defensive tackles:

The proliferation of NFL draft simulators has helped more and more people share their takes on the annual selection event, and now even current players are joining the fun. New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan tried his hand at a seven-round mock draft for his team, and the results are interesting to say the least.

Jordan has the Saints trading down twice and selecting three defensive tackles, along with a local fan-favorite running back. Let’s break down his picks round-by-round:

How Marcus Davenport signing with the Vikings shakes up Saints’ DE depth chart

The #Saints lost Marcus Davenport and now investing in edge rusher this offseason has gone from “smart” to “must”, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

After losing three defensive linemen on the first day of the NFL’s free agency negotiation period, the New Orleans Saints will be looking at a big rebuild on the line, especially in the interior. However, the edge defender position took a big hit as well with the loss of former first-round draft selection Marcus Davenport. After a half-sack season, Davenport agreed to terms on a one-year $13 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings on Monday.

The Saints may not be as devastated on the outside as they are on the inside (of the defensive trenches, I mean) but defensive end is clearly a position the Saints should look to invest in this offseason. Whether they do so via free agency with available edge rushers like veterans Robert Quinn and Arden Key or drafting talented rookies like Northwestern’s Adetomiwa Adebawore, Bowling Green’s Karl Brooks or K.J. Henry of Clemson adding at least one more body to the group should be a priority for the Saints.

Even before the departure of Davenport, offseason acquisitions would have made sense. Now, the position feels like a need when it comes to adding talent. Here are the defensive ends currently on the roster for New Orleans, how they performed in 2022, last year’s snap count and how they’re expected to contribute in 2023:

Saints redo their contract with Cameron Jordan to save $10 million against salary cap

The Saints redid their contract with Cameron Jordan to save $10 million against the salary cap, which he joked: ‘I feel like this sort of happens every year’

There’s one big item off the to-do list: the New Orleans Saints restructured their contract with defensive end Cameron Jordan to save $10 million in salary cap space ahead of the start of free agency, as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Saints are still over the cap by roughly $16 million so more work needs to be done before the cap-compliance deadline on Wednesday.

Jordan will carry a cap hit of about $15.7 million after redoing his deal, but he could leave behind as much as $15.3 million in dead money if he isn’t re-signed after the 2023 season. He’ll celebrate his 34th birthday this summer before entering the final year of his contract.

But Jordan isn’t sweating it. This will work itself out one way or another. These annual restructures have just become part of his routine.

“I feel like this sort of happens every year at (this) point,” Jordan told CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson while vacationing with his family in Spain.” It’s a standard if you look at my contract. if you think about it, this could all be negated if players had fully guaranteed contracts. Either way, I’m not sure of the specifics on how it helps them with the cap. All I know is that it helps the team, and I get a guaranteed year going into the final year of my dead. We’ll take that every time.”

Jordan became the Saints’ all-time sacks leader in 2022, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer and “Dome Patrol” legend Rickey Jackson with a three-sack performance against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’ll be playing for the Saints again in 2023, but what happens after that is anyone’s guess.

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Bleacher Report suggests a bold trade sending Cameron Jordan to the Seahawks

Bleacher Report suggested a bold trade sending Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan to the Seahawks, which would leave New Orleans with $23 million in dead money:

Everyone has their take on what the New Orleans Saints should do this offseason — including Cameron Jordan, who ended his offseason social media hiatus to lobby for his team’s pursuit of former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. But what if Jordan himself goes on the move? Would trading him be a consideration?

The latest proposal comes from Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine, who suggests the Saints could kick off a rebuild by trading Jordan to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a second-round pick in 2023 and a third rounder in 2024.

On the one hand, that’s strong value for an aging player. It would put the Saints on the board three times in a 23-slot span this April, and it would return the third-round pick they sent to the Denver Broncos next year. New Orleans would go on the clock at Nos. 29 (first round), 41 and 53 (second round), plus 72 (third round) through the first two nights of the 2023 draft. That’s appealing, but it isn’t enough.

And on the other hand, this doesn’t help the Saints out financially. They would be left with a $23.4 million dead money payout for Jordan that might otherwise go to different players. Trading him saves only $2.2 million against the salary cap. It’s in their interest to either restructure Jordan’s contract or sign him to a new deal this spring, saving more than $10.6 million while keeping a top defender in the lineup.

And offloading Jordan like this could be hazardous for the state of their defensive line. Starters David Onyemata and Marcus Davenport are both free agents, as is top backup Tanoh Kpassagnon and every other defensive tackle who got into a game for New Orleans last year. The Saints badly need Jordan’s stable presence in the defensive front while renovating the unit around him. That’s to say nothing of Jordan’s value to the team as a leader and steadying presence in the locker room.

Maybe a first-round pick would be worth it (and Seattle owns two of them, at Nos. 5 and 20) but it’s very unlikely the Seahawks would trade those kinds of assets for a 33-year-old pass rusher. Given the salary cap penalties involved, there probably isn’t a realistic price the Saints could find an interested team to agree to in trading for Jordan at this point in the offseason. Playoff hopefuls like Seattle will need to look elsewhere to cure what ails them.

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Cameron Jordan riffs on Sean Payton’s spotty record in building defenses

Cameron Jordan riffed on Sean Payton’s hit-or-miss history of building defenses: ‘You didn’t draft me anybody, so we’ve got a whole lot of nobodies’

Take a bow, Cameron Jordan. The personable New Orleans Saints defensive end has spent the week leading up to Super Bowl LVII making the rounds on Radio Row and sharing his perspective on everything going on around his team — including its former members who have moved on to other opportunities in the NFL.

And no former Saint has made more headlines as of late than Sean Payton, now the head coach of the Denver Broncos. Jordan reflected on his relationship with his old coach and noted that he and Payton only ever interacted much when things were either going really, really well or really badly on defense, given Payton’s background as an offensive coach.

“‘Cam, what the (expletive) are we doing? Step it up,'” Jordan recalled hearing from Payton on The Pivot Podcast with hosts Channing Crowder, Fred Taylor, and Ryan Clark. He continued with his response, “Hey relax. I’ve got this. Or sometimes I’m like, ‘I’ll try and get this.’ You didn’t draft me anybody, so we’ve got a whole lot of nobodies. You did this. But okay, I’ll make it work. We need more, but what did you give me? What did you give me to squeeze more out of?”

Hey, that’s a bar. Payton earned that riff given his spotty streak of defensive draft picks in the years following Jordan’s arrival. All four defenders the Saints drafted with Jordan in 2011 — Martez Wilson, Johnny Patrick, Greg Romeus, and Nate Bussey — were out of town by 2013. Of the 13 defenders the Saints drafted from 2013 to 2015 (Payton was suspended for the 2012 season), only one signed a second contract with the team: P.J. Williams. That includes first-round picks like Kenny Vaccaro and Stephone Anthony, neither of whom are in the NFL anymore.

It’s a good thing Payton acknowledged those defensive issues and brought Jeff Ireland in to lead the college scouting department in 2016, followed by sweeping coaching changes on that side of the ball in 2017. Those moves empowered Dennis Allen to rebuilt the unit from the ground up, which ushered in the greatest three-year streak in team history and finally surrounded Jordan with the talent he needed to get his team a stop when they needed it. That catapulted his career to new heights and set him up for a smooth transition to a media gig of his own whenever he wants it. For now, Jordan is busy venting some frustrations and remaining optimistic that the players and coaches can get New Orleans back where they want to go with Payton working for another team.

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Cameron Jordan sees appeal of Derek Carr: ‘As long as it’s not against the Saints, we know he can win’

Cameron Jordan sees the appeal of the Saints chasing Derek Carr: ‘As long as it’s not against the Saints, we know he can win’

How would Derek Carr’s  potential New Orleans Saints teammates feel about having him join them in black and gold? Cameron Jordan shared his take on the situation as the Saints work to recruit the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback in a conversation with WWL’s Brooke Kirchhofer.

Jordan did downplay the Saints’ meetings with Carr so far: “We’re just courting. It’s just a date. He’s already got another date with Carolina,” Jordan speculated. For what it’s worth, no other team has scheduled a visit with Carr or been reported as a suitor besides the Saints, including the division-rival Panthers.

“Any time the organization has their eyes set on somebody, we can win with them,” Jordan said, expressing faith in the team’s scouting department to find their next quarterback. He acknowledged the success Jameis Winston had prior to his serious back injury and how well Andy Dalton played in a less-than-ideal situation before pivoting back to Carr.

Jordan continued, “You get a guy like Derek Carr, who you know is an upper, young quarterback who can play well into his — is he even 30 yet? We’ve got time. He has like 9 years in the league — and you have a guy you know we can win. We played him last year, so as long as it’s not against the Saints, we know he can win.”

The Raiders are 24-24 in the last three years since moving to Las Vegas, and they’re 63-79 in games Carr has started since 2014, though it’s tough to say how much blame he should get for their lack of success. Their offense has ranked 12th, 18th, and 10th in points scored the last three seasons under Carr’s management but their defense has finished at 26th, 26th, and 30th. It’s a trend that’s continued throughout his career, with the Raiders posting a positive scoring differential only once, in 2016.

So Jordan’s defense could be a big boon for Carr if he can sort things out offensively. But as Jordan pointed out, we’re in the very early stages of any sort of team-up. Carr’s trade deadline is only days away, so hopefully this situation resolves itself quickly, and in a way that benefits New Orleans.

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