Get to know: DE Cameron Jordan

Cam Jordan: a name that New Orleans Saints fans know so well. Since Jordan put on a Saints uniform in 2011, he has been a fan favorite. His consistency and availability on the field mixed with his philanthropy off the field has already secured him a spot in the Saints ring of honor when he retires.

Today, we’re going to dive into who Cam Jordan is and how he became one of the best defensive linemen in the NFL.

College

Jordan began his college career in 2007 at Cal. As a freshman, Jordan played in all 13 games where he recorded 18 tackles, one sack and one defensive touchdown. After his freshman campaign, Jordan broke onto the college football scene. Through his next three seasons, Jordan logged 157 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 33.0 TFL and three forced fumbles through 38 games.

After an amazing college career, Jordan went to the NFL combine where he ran a 4.76 40-yard dash with a 1.71 10-yard split. He ranked 4th of all defensive ends in the 2011 draft with a 66 Athleticism Score

Going into the 2011 NFL Draft loaded with pass rushers, Jordan fell to the Saints at pick 24. He was the seventh edge rusher taken off the board, going behind future Hall of Famers such as Von Miller and J.J. Watt. Some other edge rushers taken ahead of Jordan include Aldon Smith, Robert Quinn, Ryan Kerrigan and Adrian Clayborn.

Saints Career

When Jordan entered the league, he had a rough rookie season. In 16 games, Jordan recorded just one sack, but he quickly found his footing after that.

In year two, Jordan started an 11-season streak of 7+ sacks, the most in the NFL. He finished the season with eight sacks, three forced fumbles and a career-high 67 total tackles. The Saints began to see the bright future of Cam Jordan, but I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted how great he would be.

He would go one to make the Pro Bowl in eight of the next 10 seasons. He made first team all pro in 2017 where he had 62 tackles, one interception, two forced fumbles, 13.0 sacks and one touchdown to lead the Saints to the playoffs.

He would follow his 2017 campaign up with back-to-back second team all pro appearances to help lead the Saints to their second and third straight playoff appearances. He recorded a career-high 15.5 sacks in 2019 and was ranked as the NFL’s 26th best player.

Despite his numerous awards, Jordan’s best quality as a player might be his availability. He has missed just two games in his career, one due to an eye injury in 2022 and one due to COVID. He’s played in 192 out of a possible 194 regular season games for the Saints since 2011.

Jordan has the second most sacks of any active NFL player with 115.5. He sits eight sacks behind Von Miller and one ahead of J.J. Watt who retired this offseason. With a 4.5 sack season in 2023, Jordan can move into the top-20 list of NFL all-time sack leaders.

Contract

In 2019, Jordan signed a three-year 52.5-million-dollar extension to remain a New Orleans Saint through 2023. Since 2021, his cap hit has been under 2 million dollars thanks to his willingness to restructure his contact to fit the Saints salary cap needs.

At the end of this season, Jordan’s contract will be up, but Mickey Loomis and Dennis Allen have made it very obvious they don’t plan on letting him walk. They said Jordan will be in New Orleans as long as he wants to play football. I don’t think there’s a single Saints fan out there who disagrees with Loomis and Allen’s statement.

Philanthropy

It’s hard to argue that any Saints player has done more for the New Orleans community than Cam Jordan. He has been a Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee two times in 2017 and 2021. The only other guy I can think of who could’ve matched what Jordan has done off the field is the legendary Drew Brees who won the WPMOY award in 2007 for his efforts in rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina.

You could go on and on about the charity work that Cam Jordan has done, so here’s a list of some of the things Jordan has done for the community from NFL’s Kayla Burton:

• Mentoring at the Youth Empowerment Program, Boys and Girls Club and Son of a Saint
• Ambassador for Saints Kids Club and Local Dairy Council’s Program
• Hosted shopping sprees for kids and victims of domestic violence
• Toy and supply giveaways for kids in New Orleans
• Participated in NFL/USO tours
• Hospital Visits
• Home restoration projects
• Host of his annual youth summer football camp
• Hurricane relief programs
• Led a Say Her Name campaign in 2020
• Teamed up with Crescent City Corps to equip law enforcement with leadership development courses

This isn’t even the end of the list. Jordan continues to help the community through various other charity work and community service efforts.

Fun Facts

• Cam Jordan’s dad is Steve Jordan, a 13-year NFL veteran who played most of his career with the Minnesota Vikings.
• Jordan’s wife played college basketball at Rutgers.
• He has made appearances on TV Shows such as The League, The 5th Quarter and The NFL on CBS.
• Jordan is one of the best TV personalities in the entire league, and don’t be surprised if he’s highly recruited as a TV Personality after he hangs his cleats up.

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