Cam Jordan intends to play next year – whether he’s in the Saints’ plans or not

Yes, Cameron Jordan acknowledged, he does plan to soak in the atmosphere in the Superdome on Sunday just in case it’s his last of 120 unforgettable home games inside the building, including seven playoff games.

But then again, the Saints defensive end said he’s been doing that for the last few years now.

Because, you know, he’s 35 years old and he’s well aware of the realities of the NFL after a stellar 14-year-career that will probably land him in the team’s Ring of Honor one day.

“You know, family pictures, make sure the kids know they’re from New Orleans,” said Jordan, who said that last part has become less of a concern now that his son is nine and daughter is four. “In terms of personal, I’ve always said that I’ve played the way I wanted to. So if today was my last day as a Saint, what haven’t I tried to give?”

Jordan said “it would be news to me” if the Saints didn’t want him back in 2025, when he has one year and $12.5 million left on his contract ($1.5M of which is fully guaranteed). And he said he’s never seriously considered playing anywhere else but New Orleans.

He takes pride in the fact that he never transferred schools in high school or college and has never really even come close to testing free agency after signing early contract extensions in the summers of 2015, 2019 and 2023.

“So I wouldn’t even know how to begin that thought process,” Jordan told NewOrleans.Football. “They’d have to kick me out.”

Jordan also added, “My love for New Orleans goes deeper than the team. And if it hasn’t been proven this year, I don’t know what would.”

But Jordan is also well aware that getting “kicked out” is a realistic possibility considering the uncertainty surrounding the next coaching staff, the team’s salary-cap situation, and his diminished role this season – when the Saints moved him to defensive tackle on pass-rushing downs and lowered his snap count as low as 10 snaps in Dennis Allen’s final game as a head coach.

So if the Saints do decide they want to move on from him, Jordan said he fully intends to keep playing even if he has to find somewhere else to do it.

“Most likely. Unless the wife and the family start to sit down and be like, ‘Hey, we’re done with this.’ Physically speaking, I’ve got all types of rage left in me,” said Jordan, who said his reaction to a release would be: “That’s fine. Life is a business.”

Then he added, “I’d probably gun for a team that plays the Saints two times a year.”

Jordan is partly joking. Probably. Because he’s always partly joking with a playful, larger-than-life personality that will land him a top TV network gig the day he finally stops playing football.

But he’s dead serious about two things.

1. He wants to earn his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and knows it will probably take 130 career sacks to secure his place there. He’s at 120.5 right now after adding only three to the tally so far this season.

Among players who have been eligible for the Hall of Fame so far, only Jared Allen (136), John Abraham (133.5) and Leslie O’Neal (132.5) have yet to be enshrined with at least 125 sacks since the stat became official in 1982. Jordan might get there with 125 – heck, he might get there with 120.5 and his eight Pro Bowl selections, one first-team All-Pro selection and two second-team All-Pro selections.

But he’d feel a lot better about his case with 130.

2. He doesn’t want to get stuck at defensive tackle again next year.

Jordan has become less and less subtle about his distaste for the position switch the team surprised him with this season. Jordan talked in training camp about how he had lost a significant amount of weight this offseason to become more dynamic and explosive following significant ankle surgery. So it was definitely news to him when the team wanted him to bulk up and move inside on passing downs.

Jordan tried his best to embrace the new role and be a team player on the field. But biting his lip has been a little harder.

Last week, Jordan said of his role, “If clarity’s not given this offseason, I’ll seek it out.”

Then Thursday he made several comments along those lines, including:

“That’s something that will definitely have to be addressed this offseason.”

“Again, I won’t come back at d-tackle, though. That’s a waste.”

“I mean, obviously, if it had been up to me I’d be sitting at 130 sacks and not 120. But to get sacks from an end, you probably have to play end on third down. So that’s blatantly obvious at this point. Things that weren’t said or alluded to need to be addressed.”

Jordan has had a bit of a resurgence since interim coach Darren Rizzi took over for Allen and simultaneously promoted Brian Young to defensive line coach while moving former d-line coach Todd Grantham to a new role.

All three of Jordan’s sacks have come during that six-game span, while he has averaged 40 snaps per game.

“You know, when you have a guy who's a d-line coach that’s an Xs and Os guy vs. a guy who's actually played the game and has been a d-lineman (or coach) for 30-plus years, you can see the effects,” Jordan said last week, following a two-sack performance against the Commanders.

Obviously the elephant in the room has to be acknowledged, too – that Jordan’s performance and ability has diminished over the years. Obviously. He’s freakin’ 35 years old.

But unlike last year, when Jordan fought through the ankle injury over the final two months and admittedly became a liability to the team on passing downs during that stretch, he said he feels good physically.

And that relentless motor that has always defined him as a player and a person isn’t slowing down anytime soon.

“Well, I mean, with the role given, I’d say I’m playing really well in terms of run stopping. But we always knew that part,” Jordan said. “So you have to look at the pass-rush opportunities, I don’t know how well I grade myself playing an interior pass rusher. I wouldn’t say I’m happy about it, but at the same time it’s something that I’ve gotten better at over this year.

“For it not to be my spot, it has been my spot. That has nothing to do with how I play the game.”