Cameron Jordan, a Saints stalwart, underwent surgery earlier this year to correct a serious ankle injury he suffered in November. While the eight-time Pro Bowler was able to play with the injury, he was noticeably restricted down the stretch of the 2023 season, finishing with only two sacks (his lowest total since his debut year in 2011).
Fortunately, Jordan is on the mend. He told reporters, including Mike Triplett from New Orleans.Football, that he is running again and participating in walk-throughs, and he wants to do some on-field work before the end of OTAs and minicamp (the penultimate OTA session is on June 6, and the club’s three-day obligatory minicamp begins on June 11).
Despite the lower sack number, Jordan performed reasonably well in the eyes of Pro Football Focus, earning a 73.5 overall rating and ranking 41st among 112 qualifying edge defenders. That falls short of his elite performances from 2015 to 2021, but is consistent with his 2022 work. His overall score was lowered by a lacklustre 63.8 pass rush grade, but there is hope that a healed ankle will allow him to match his 2022 counting achievements, which included 8.5 sacks, 66 total tackles (13 TFL), and two forced fumbles.
Jordan, who turns 35 in July, appears to have another two years left in his historic playing career. The Cal product signed an agreement last August that keeps him under club control until 2025, which he expects to be his final season. In traditional Saints form, the team restructured his contract in March to free up cap space.
Chase Young, a free agency acquisition, joins Jordan on the New Orleans defensive front, although he has yet to receive the big-money deal he expected when the Commanders selected him second overall in 2020. Young, of course, won Defensive Rookie of the Year that season, but he struggled with a significant knee injury afterward, despite recording 7.5 sacks between the Commanders and 49ers in 2023. While his one-year pillow contract with the Saints allows him to earn up to $13 million, the majority of that comes from per-game roster bonuses.
Young’s market was limited in part because he needed neck surgery this summer, and while the Saints were confident in his prognosis, they recognized he would need time to heal. As Triplett points out, Young will most likely stay in “walk-through mode” throughout minicamp, which is consistent with previous predictions that he would be sidelined until training camp in July.
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