Pro Football Journal: Old Man Cam—Saints' Cam Jordan Enters his 16th NFL Season

By John Turney

Thirteen headshots of Cam Jordan

One city. One team. Year 16. Cameron Jordan is walking into the 2026 season the way a franchise player is supposed to: still in black and gold, still wearing 94, still the Saints’ all-time sack leader—and calling it his last ride.

Earlier this summer he signed a one-year deal to return to New Orleans after three months as an unrestricted free agent. The contract is a base $7.5 million ($6.15 million signing bonus, $1.35 million salary) and can climb to $11 million with sack incentives.

He did not leave the announcement vague. "One city. One team. One final season," he posted on social media. At the press conference, he added that he would treat every snap like the last one he might ever take, "because I believe between God and my wife that’s the only two people that can get me back through."

The Saints took Jordan 24th overall in 2011 out of California. Fifteen seasons later, he is still here. He is now the longest-tenured player in franchise history, passing the 15 seasons he shared with Drew Brees. He has a case for being "Mr. Saint" since Brees played with the Chargers early in his career.

He has appeared in 243 regular-season games and started 242 of them—both club records. The only games he has missed were one for COVID protocols in 2021 and one with an orbital fracture in 2022. That is the kind of availability Hall of Fame voters used to take for granted and now treat as a separate skill. More on that in a bit.

After two down years—2.0 sacks in 2023, 4.0 in 2024— Jordan led the Saints with 10.5 sacks in 2025, his first double-digit season since 2021 and the seventh of his career. With that, it's likely that he's confident he can contribute like that again, rather than what he did in '22 and '23.

In 2025, Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded his run defense 82.1, fourth among qualified edge defenders. The pass-rush grade (59.5) was ordinary despite the 10.5 sacks. His fellow players put him 100th on the NFL Top 100 list for 2026—his ninth appearance on that ballot, but the first since 2023. So, it seems, he's seen as productive.

If Jordan is as productive this year as he was last year, he could reach some real career milestones — 140 sacks, for example. Career totals still become talking points in Hall of Fame presentations if a player can get to the Final 15, the round where voters debate and vote.

A few years ago he would have been viewed as a borderline-plus candidate under the old rules. Not a first-ballot lock, but a Final 15 guy who would eventually get in. In most years there were five modern-era slots, and in years without a cluster of obvious inner-circle names, a career like Jordan’s often found a path.

His case was always going to rest on being a complete defensive end — someone who could rush the passer and still play the run. The testimonials would include the NFL Top 100 rankings, a scouting group that had him in the top five at his position five times, and several highly graded seasons from PFF.

The bottom line: five years after retirement, he was going to be a viable candidate. Until he wasn’t.

The Hall tightened the rules a few years ago. There simply were not enough votes to go around for large classes, and that made a Jordan-type career harder to get across the line.

This week the process changed again. The new structure appears more open for players of Jordan’s profile than the last couple of cycles — though not for seniors, because that category was eliminated. Whether that actually produces larger classes remains to be seen. Time will tell.

Regardless of how that plays out in the next decade, he will still be a fun watch in his final year. He's an "eye-test" guy more than anyone else. He's been used in several ways, dropping into a hook/curl zone, even taking the flat in coverage. He's got a fine array of pass rush moves and could easily be considered a technician. And as was mentioned, he can stack up a tackle or tight end, shed and make a tackle for loss for you.

PFF reflected that in his career run-stop grades, six times he was above 80 (their "blue") and seven more times he was above 70 (their color is green, still high) and were usually higher than his pass rush grades, with eight of his seasons ranked in the top ten at his position group. Of course that is just one source, but it's a reasonable take because it is what you see when you watch him.

And watching him is the point. Here's hoping he will get at least eight sacks, play a full or near-full schedule, and all that, but what will be enough is that he can be one of those who, at age 37 or older, play at a high level, guys like Reggie White or Bruce Smith or Doug Atkins or Andy Robustelli. You can throw in Coy Bacon, Julius Peppers, and Chris Doleman. All of those players had at season one excellent season from age 37 or older.

And maybe it will be a special season, like Kevin Greene's final year. He had 12 in 1999 before he called it quits, the most for an edge rusher in his final season. But even if he does not get to double digits, there have been other long-term pass rushers who had eight sacks or more in their last season.

After what Cam Jordan did in 2025, that is not outside the realm of possibility and would put him among the best-ever final seasons for ends/edges.

Can't wait to see what happens.

Career stats: