After 12 illustrious years with the New Orleans Saints , star defensive end Cameron Jordan once again took time to solidify his intent to retire wearing black and gold. After a few more seasons of rushing the passer, of course. In a league wherein many will default to cookie cutter responses about their futures, Jordan continues to buck the trend and not mince words about his hopes and expectations with the Saints.
Often times players will meet questions about their future with canned phrases like, "we all understand the NFL is a business." Or "I'm just going to focus on what I can control and let the front office and my manager handle that." While these are not bad or negative responses by any means, they are among the norm. But not for the Saints' earlier 2011 first-round selection.
"Playing career wise," Jordan tweeted on April 10. "I'm locked in until the Saints don't want me no more." Holding true to a similar sentiment he shared in March when he tweeted in part, " But you know Black and Gold is all I wanna know." A tweet that drew support from his teammate: running back Alvin Kamara who responded by simply saying, "Same."
That is the impact of a leader on a team's roster constantly displaying his loyalty to the organization that has continued to invest in him. It permeates. That kind of loyalty being expressed between both the organization one of its most important players is not something others will ignore or take for granted. Around the league while players are requesting trades from their teams, Jordan is further asserting his hunger to be with only one team for the duration of his career.
The idea is not farfetched. Jordan has piled on at least 7.5 sacks every season since 2012, when his playing time ticked up dramatically following his rookie season. In addition, he has been one of the team's most reliable run stoppers. He has also only missed two career games, appearing in 16 every season of his career. The two things that sidelined him? A global pandemic in 2021 and an orbital bone fracture in 2022. Simply put, it takes a lot to keep him off the gridiron.
Jordan has a personal tie to this as well. His father, former NFL tight end Steve Jordan, spent all 13 years of his playing career with the Minnesota Vikings. Makes one wonder if the aspiration is in the Jordan DNA.
Cam Jordan is about to match his father's years of playing experience in 2023, which is presently a contract year for him. If the Saints and Jordan get another multi-year extension done, as the defensive end feels he has "hella more years" left in his system, that should be enough to seal the deal and make sure the franchise's all-time sacks leader finishes his career wearing the fleur de lis.
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