NFL Trade Rumors
It’s becoming rarer and rarer to see one player stay with the same team for their entire career. It’s tough for both sides to get on the same page about when to hang up the cleats and the player usually feels like he has more left in the tank than the team does. The end result is seeing franchise legends in other uniforms that just don’t seem right — Aaron Rodgers with the Jets, Tom Brady with the Buccaneers, J.J. Watt with the Cardinals, etc.
Longtime Saints DE Cameron Jordan feels like the latest entry into that category. After 15 years in New Orleans, the door certainly isn’t closed for him to come back in 2026 but it definitely doesn’t feel like the Saints are the frontrunners to keep the veteran pass rusher. Other teams might be able to offer more of what Jordan is looking for in terms of role and salary at this stage of his career.
Role seems to be key for Jordan. He had double-digit sacks for the seventh time in his career last year and looked rejuvenated compared to just a couple of years earlier. Jordan has talked about how he clashed with previous iterations of the Saints’ coaching staff, either because he was pushed into a role he was less comfortable with or because he felt like his coaches were trying to sunset his career prematurely.
Despite being on the back nine of his 30s, Jordan finished as PFF’s No. 23 highest-graded edge rusher last year and was outstanding against the run in addition to his pass rush production. It seems like he wants to find a team that still views him as a high-end pass rusher, though that could be tricky at his age. (High-end pass rushers get paid more, too, which also seems like a potential factor.)
I’m sure Jordan ideally would like to land with a bona fide contending team, but if role and salary are more important at this stage of his career, that could broaden his options. He can fit in multiple schemes as a bigger defensive end with inside-outside flexibility. One of the few tried and true ways of winning a Super Bowl is bringing in more pass rushers than you know what to do with, so that should help Jordan find an opportunity somewhere, either shortly before or during training camp.
Jordan, 36, is a former first-round pick of the Saints back in 2011 out of Cal. He was entering the fifth year of a six-year, $61.969 million contract that included $33.469 million guaranteed that he signed back in 2015 when he agreed to a three-year extension with the Saints worth $52.5 million in 2019.
New Orleans gave Jordan a two-year, $27.9 million contract extension through 2025 before the 2024 season.
In 2025, Jordan appeared in all 17 games for the Saints and recorded 47 total tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one recovery and two pass defenses.
We have him included in...
