Tag: Cameron Jordan

Cameron Jordan, Mark Ingram, Connor Payton and a crazy 2011 draft story

Sean Payton shared a funny story about his son’s connection to the draft picks of Mark Ingram II and Cameron Jordan, two of the best players in Saints history.

Former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton peeled back the curtain to give a look into the mindset of the New Orleans Saints going into the 2011 NFL draft. That year the Saints walked away with Mark Ingram II and Cameron Jordan in the first round.

Payton crashed Ingram and Jordan’s interview with Kay Adams and immediately relayed this story of drafting both players in a story involving Payton’s son Connor, who was in fifth grade at the time.

New Orleans always had their eyes set on Mark Ingram. Payton was so confident that he told his son they were targeting Ingram days before the draft.

In true kid fashion, Connor was telling all his friends the Saints were taking the Heisman Trophy-winning running back. However, Jordan unexpectedly dropped to the 24th pick. Plans changed.

When the Saints picked Jordan instead, Connor called Payton, and Payton had to tell his son these things happen sometimes. That was probably hard to understand at that age, but luckily for Connor, Bill Belichick called the Saints about a trade for the 28th pick.

New Orleans accepts the trade and selects Ingram. Payton called Connor back and said “there’s Mark Ingram.” It’s 14 years later, but Ingram thanked Connor for his persistence. It was delayed, but Connor still got to go

In 2011, the Saints drafted Ingram and Jordan in the span of four picks. They would go on to reach the peak of most rushing yards and sacks in team history.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Former Saints HC gives his opinion on Saints’ leading candidate

Sean Payton shared his opinion on Kellen Moore’s fit with the Saints, and the traits needed to succeed. He adds “there’s a standard here” for the next coach to uphold:

The New Orleans Saints are the only team left with a coaching vacancy. The expectation is the Saints are waiting on Super Bowl LIX to wrap up so they can officially hire Kellen Moore away from the Philadelphia Eagles. That didn’t stop Sean Payton from getting his jokes off.

“Are they announcing that this year or next year?” Payton asked Kay Adams in jest, joining Mark Ingram II and Cameron Jordan on set. Arguably Adams’ biggest inquiry was if Moore a good fit for New Orleans. There aren’t many, if any, people who can answer that question better than Payton. He led the Saints for over a decade to high degrees of success. Payton doesn’t run from the shadow he casts, either.

“I don’t know Kellen,” Payton remarked. “I think he’s real sharp, but there’s a standard here.” He’s obviously referencing the standard set by Payton over his tenure.

That standard has been lost recently. After three years of Dennis Allen at the helm, there are pieces of culture that are gone in addition to the lack of success.

Jordan alluded to that missing part of culture when the conversation shifted to what makes a good coach. Jordan believes a good coach can’t be “afraid to make uncomfortable situations.”

Payton shook his head with pride and replied, “That’s right. We’d make it uncomfortable every once in a while,” as he and Ingram shared a laugh. The two definitely shared tense moments, but that’s Payton’s “love language.”

There’s a growing emphasis on getting an offensive coach. Payton doesn’t subscribe to this thought process: “I don’t think it has to be offense, defense or special teams. Find someone who can lead everyone, someone who is authentic, creative.”

Creativity can come in many forms, but when you pair it with the other aspects discussed, creativity in leadership may be the most important form.

Being your authentic self allows players to believe in what’s in front of them. It’s an impassioned game. If you shy away from uncomfortable situations, you’ll struggle to lead your team through them when they inevitably arise.

For Payton, it all comes down to leading an entire team. That’s one of the biggest changes from coordinator to head coach.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Cameron Jordan won’t go looking for a trade: ‘I’m black and gold forever’

Cameron Jordan won’t request a trade to chase a Super Bowl ring — and doesn’t feel he needs to. He wants to remain a New Orleans Saints lifer:

Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns, but don’t expect Cameron Jordan to follow suit. Garrett and Jordan are at two different points of their careers, but Kay Adams told the New Orleans Saints defensive end he was the first person Adams thought about when she heard the news.

Jordan questioned why, but didn’t let her answer before affirming: “I’m not asking for a trade from anywhere. I’m black and gold forever.”

This is a common sentiment from Jordan, so it may not seem out of the ordinary. However, he did consider forcing his way out during the regular season, so it was refreshing to hear him express this.

So why did Adams think about Jordan in relation to Garrett’s trade request. Adams said the reasons for wanting out would be the same, and she has a point. Garret is in his prime, while Jordan has more time behind him than in front of him.

Players in both categories would want to be in best position to win a ring now, due to an understanding their window could close soon in different ways.

If you ask Jordan, he is in the best place to win a ring. Injuries were costly in 2024. New Orleans lost their entire interior offensive line. By the time Spencer Rattler was leading the team, he was dealing with makeshift weapons and a pieced-together offensive line. 

Without these injuries, Jordan still sees the Saints as a championship team. With a healthy roster, they’re better than 5-12, but it’s hard to say championships are on the horizons when they’ve missed the playoffs four years in a row.

Jordan has always been an optimist. That optimism was on full display with Adams, and if he has his way he’ll continue to be the optimist in the New Orleans locker room as his career draws to a close.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Blake Grupe shares endorsement for Saints’ next coach at Radio Row

All signs point to the Saints hiring Kellen Moore after the Super Bowl, but that didn’t stop Blake Grupe from endorsing Darren Rizzi this week on Radio Row:

All signs point to Kellen Moore being the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints. Until the ink dries on his contract, however, nothing is official. Maybe it is that small glimmer of hope that led to Blake Grupe saying he’s “a believer in Rizz.”

Grupe’s endorsement of Darren Rizzi joins those made by other Saints players on social media, like Alvin Kamara and maybe Cameron Jordan.

Grupe being a kicker gives him first-hand experience with Rizzi. Even before Dennis Allen got fired and Rizzi became the interim head coach, Rizzi was still Grupe’s main point of contact. That probably plays a part in why he feels that way. Over the last two seasons, he’s become more familiar with Rizzi than most of the roster.

Still, with signs pointing towards this being an unlikely outcome, it’s surprising to hear Grupe come out with that statement. Commendable, but surprising.

When asked about Moore specifically, Grupe deferred to his position on special teams as his area of expertise. He told the NOLA.com crew at Radio Row, “I don’t need to know the offense, man, I just need to keep kicking.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Chase Young highlighted as one of the NFL’s biggest risers

Saints DE Chase Young made noticeable improvements in the second half of the season. PFF sees him as one of the year’s biggest risers:

Chase Young was the New Orleans Saints’ biggest free agency acquisition last offseason. Things began slow for Young but he began to validate some of the belief the Saints showed in him as the season went on.

This improvement was seen across the defensive line after transitioning from Todd Grantham to Brian Young as the defensive line coach. Young, Brian Bresee and Cameron Jordan saw the most noticeable improvements.

Pro Football Focus highlighted Young as one of the biggest risers in the second half of the season. How PFF divided the aligns with Darren Rizzi replacing Dennis Allen, Weeks 1 to 9 and Weeks 10 to 18.

In that time frame, Young had just half a sack more, but he began to get significantly more pressures. The defensive end had 33 pressures in the back stretch of the season, highlighted by his monster game versus the New York Giants. That was the seventh most in the league during the time span.

Young improved from a 56.6 player grade in the first nine games to a 73.3 grade in the second half of the season. The Saints have a decision to make on Young. PFF saw a step up from Young and the raw numbers support their observation.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Cameron Jordan salary: How much money did Saints DE make this season?

How much money did the New Orleans Saints pay Cameron Jordan last season? And how much are they on the hook for in 2025?

There have been a lot of New Orleans Saints franchise legends and mainstays make their ways out of town in the last few years, but at least one name has remained a constant: Cameron Jordan.

This past season was Jordan’s 14th season with the Saints and unfortunately, it was one of his weakest. It is understandable, given that he is 35, that some regression has started to hit. He played a career-low 48% of snaps last year and didn’t really make an impact until late in the season.

Jordan finished the year with 34 tackles, seven for a loss and four sacks. Though those numbers don’t jump off the page, his contract numbers certainly do.

This is how much the veteran defensive end made this season, according to the experts with OverTheCap:

Cameron Jordan 2024-2025 salary

Jordan signed a two-year, $26.5 million contract extension back in August of 2023 that will keep him in New Orleans through the end of 2025.

His base salary in 2024 was $1,210,000. His total cap hit amounted to $13,852,250, though when accounting for the prorated signing bonus of $12,642,250.

How much will Cameron Jordan make next season?

His base salary will be $12,500,000 and then his prorated signing bonus of $7,561,000 will push his cap hit to $20,061,000. That’s second-highest on the team, and it’s clear a decision is coming on what to do about it.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Cameron Jordan on why Saints had to make a change at DL coach

Cameron Jordan shared his views on former Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham, and why change was needed to get more out of the unit:

The New Orleans Saints had a difficult 2024 season, to put it lightly, and one of the more notable issues on the team was the defensive line’s struggles. The unit was solid at generating pressure, and occasionally was around league-average in the sacks department. However, when it came to run defense, things got ugly. Here are some key stats that predominantly start with the defensive line:

  • Tied-15th fewest sacks accumulated (39)
  • 2nd-most rushing yards allowed (2,404)
  • Tied-7th most rushing touchdowns allowed (20)
  • Tied-3rd most 20-yard runs allowed (18)
  • 2nd-highest yards per carry allowed (4.9)

This poor performance led to defensive line coach Todd Grantham being re-assigned out of the position, and ultimately ended up moving on to become the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan of the Saints discussed Grantham and his points of emphasis at a few points throughout the season/offseason, and this continued recently as Sports Illustrated had chronicled his season, and heard more about their relationship.

Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated paraphrased what Jordan had said regarding former Saints defensive line coach Todd Grantham, stating:

“All season, Jordan had stressed patience, while he tried to adapt to a new role — pass rusher primarily rushing from the interior. He says, more than once and for months, that his position coach, Todd Grantham, wasn’t focused on teaching players technique, tweaking form throughout a season, or development in general.” 

This would be followed up with more information regarding what he said after Week 9’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, the team’s seventh defeat in a row:

“At one point in another stinging defeat, Jordan says he told Allen and others he wouldn’t speak to Grantham anymore, that all communication needed to come from someone else. “I reached my threshold,” he says. “Threshold of — he doesn’t know what respect looks like, or he doesn’t know how to treat a man as a man. If anything, I’m a warrior. There’s ways to go about things respectfully.” 

Ultimately this is not the most surprising development to hear, as the progress of young defensive ends Isaiah Foskey and Payton Turner has been slow to nonexistent, and coaching plays a large hand in that. With neither player living up to pre-draft expectations, and a veteran stating the coaching focus was not on cultivating technique, it is fair to assume the Saints made the right move in letting Grantham walk.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

8-time Pro Bowler considered forcing his way out of New Orleans

Tensions got so high in 2024 that lifelong New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan almost took his father’s advice and requested a trade:

Cameron Jordan has been a Saint for the last 14 years, and has often expressed a desire to finish his career with the New Orleans Saints. His father, Steve Jordan, played his entire career with the Minnesota Vikings, and the younger Jordan hoped to do the same. But for the first time in his career, his hope wavered.

The 2024 season was a frustrating one for Jordan, especially early on. One of the notable low moments of the season came after the Saints’ loss on the road to the Carolina Panthers. Instead of joining his teammates in the locker room, Jordan was spotted walking alone down a hallway at Bank of America Stadium, frustrated after a seventh consecutive loss and having to be calmed down by Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara. In that moment, Jordan thought about pushing for a trade.

Jordan reflected on the incident in a feature with Sports Illustrated: “At the end, I was like, ‘Man, this has to end this way?’ I was about to, you know, force my way out of there; really, I was contemplating that for the first time ever.”

It wasn’t a fleeting thought, either. Jordan’s father had supported it and he spoke to his agent about a trade. Ultimately, they decided options weren’t viable. He wanted to go to a contender and that wasn’t likely with his contract.

One of the biggest catalysts of Jordan’s frustration was feeling poorly-coached and lied to by Todd Grantham, who reduced his playing-time in favor of younger teammates who weren’t producing. The tension boiled over to a point where Jordan told Dennis Allen he wouldn’t speak to Grantham any longer because of a lack of respect shown to Jordan.

It wasn’t until Allen was firing Brian Young that became the defensive line coach that things began to turn around. Jordan began to see more snaps and the the fundamentals and technique were emphasized along the defensive line, which helped those younger pros like Payton Turner make more plays.

Jordan is still a part of the Saints’ roster, and we’ll see how long that lasts. They have a decision to make about that contract this offseason (his $20 million salary cap hit is second-highest on the team), but it’s interesting to know he and New Orleans nearly parted ways earlier in 2024.

“There will be major talks that happen after the season, I’m sure,” Jordan told SI. “My mind, and how I take things, is: I’m either all-in or all-out.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Cameron Jordan calls Saints-Falcons rivalry ‘the only one that matters’

The Saints have had tense games with the Buccaneers and Panthers, but Cameron Jordan says the Falcons rivalry is ‘the only one that matters’

Rivalries often form in the divisions purely off playing each other frequently, especially when both teams are good. Not all rivalries are created equal, however. For example, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried, and still try, to force a rivalry with the New Orleans Saints when Tom Brady came to town.

Admittedly, Brady versus Drew Brees and Marshon Lattimore versus Mike Evans felt like chapters for an exciting rivalry. However, there never felt like enough true animosity between the fanbases to call it a true rivalry.

Everyone knows the Atlanta Falcons are the Saints’ true rival. As Cameron Jordan told Julian Edelman, “It’s the only one that matters.” There were some fun moments over the years with Tampa Bay, but Evans is the only one of the quartet still standing. No matter how many pieces come and go between New Orleans and Atlanta, the level of vitriol doesn’t fade.

“The only one that matters” is a great description of the Saints’ relationship with other teams around the division. The Saints have had a tense stretch of games with the Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers. They’ve faced both of those rivals in the playoffs. If either the Saints or those other teams weren’t good, though, the game didn’t matter as much.

Just look at their records against each other. The Saints are 56-55 against the Falcons, 31-29 against the Panthers, and 40-26 against the Buccaneers.

There’s only one pair of teams where records don’t matter, where hate week is mandatory, where animosity is eternal. That’s the Saints and Falcons. In Jordan’s words, “the only one that matters.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Cameron Jordan’s favorite quarterback to sack may surprise you

Cameron Jordan tells Julian Edelman how Matt Ryan, Cam Newton and Tom Brady all react differently to getting sacked.

There’s no quarterback Cameron Jordan has sacked more than former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Actually no quarterback in NFL history has been sacked by a single player more than Ryan has been sacked by Jordan.

So, it may surprise you to know Ryan isn’t Jordan’s favorite quarterback to sack. That honor, instead, goes to former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

To complete the divisional rotation, Jordan also described how Tom Brady, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, reacts when he’s sacked. Though Ryan has been his most frequent victim. Jordan sees the aftermath as boring.

“Matt is a consummate pro, he doesn’t show you emotion.” Jordan said, detailing Ryan as being “frustrated then he goes about his business.”

Newton is the complete opposite. Jordan said, “He’s complaining, he’s doing the most. Once he puts the little Gatorade towel on his head, stick a fork in him. He’s done.”

The instant gratification of Newton complaining was one thing, but seeing the lingering effect told Jordan everything he needed to know.

Jordan didn’t spend as much time in the division with Brady as the other two, but Jordan noticed a similar tell with Brady: “Tom will get frustrated and start talking a little bit. That’s how you know you won.”

It wasn’t a defeated demeanor, but Jordan knew he got the upper hand. Three different quarterbacks with three different reactions and Jordan peeled back the curtains.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]