With Cam Jordan coming off a down year, Saints fans aren’t sure if he’ll bounce back

On Wednesday, July 10, Cam Jordan turned 35 years old. The veteran defensive end has spent his entire career with the New Orleans Saints, and he’s currently preparing for year 14. Jordan knows he’s near the end of the road, but he believes he still has enough gas in the tank to help the Saints win a Super Bowl.

Fans aren’t so sure that’s the case. In 2023, Jordan had the second-least productive season of his career, trailing only his rookie year. Despite playing in all 17 games, the veteran defensive end only recorded two sacks, 43 tackles, three for a loss, and six quarterback hits. The underwhelming season snapped a streak of six straight Pro Bowl seasons for Jordan.

If Jordan has hit the inevitable wall that all players who are blessed to play long enough hit, he shouldn’t have any shame about it. He is the all-time sack leader for New Orleans with 117.5 sacks, has made eight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams, and cemented himself as one of the best players of a decade. That’s certainly a career to be proud of.

However, Jordan thinks there’s more to accomplish, and that last season was an anomaly. Everyone will be paying attention in 2024 to see if he’s right.

Can Cam Jordan still be productive for the Saints in year 14?

A big reason why Jordan, and others, are optimistic that he can bounce back is that he played a lot of the year hurt. He started and played all 17 games, but was very open about the fact he was dealing with an ankle injury that made things challenging for him. He’s now healthy, and believes that will allow him to get after quarterbacks how he did in past years— even at 35.

Additionally, Jordan now has some help in the edge-rushing group. Carl Granderson has emerged as a consistently productive player, and the Saints also signed Chase Young this offseason. If those two can live up to expectations, Jordan could have a reduced role that allows him to be dominant in spurts.

Surely, he has bigger goals, and is coming back for another dominant season. We’ll see if Cam Jordan is capable of delivering that in year 14.

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