For the first time in his career, Cam Jordan was aware of his mortality -- at least as it pertained to his football life. An ankle injury and torn ligaments sapped much of his ability to rush the passer. He became more of a run game specialist, and the numbers reflected it.
The ankle was surgically repaired, but he was ready to make some changes, opting to slim down from his playing weight that hovered around 288 in his 13th NFL season. He trimmed down as far as 269 pounds, a weight he hadn't seen on the scale since high school. He ended up rolling into camp at 274 pounds, joking that he was ready to be a pure pass-rusher, no more worrying about the run.
The only problem? The Saints' defensive plan this year calls for him to take more reps inside at defensive tackle on passing downs. He'll have to eat double teams and battle inside, rather than attack the QB off the edge. He'll still be expected to play outside at DE on early downs and shorter yardage.
"Wrong time, huh?" Jordan said, laughing. "Wrong time to slim down. ... We’re just gonna make it a game of speed."
The perks include being able to eat whatever he wants as he works back up to about 280, which he expects to play at. The negatives: In Year 14 he's got to take on what's in large part a new position and "evolve" to meet a whole new set of challenges. Having played sparingly on the interior throughout his career, that means double the study, double the prep. It means watching tape of players like Aaron Donald, Geno Atkins, Arik Armstead, Deforest Buckner and Calais Campbell, taking the parts of their game that allowed that type of inside/outside versatility and implementing it in his own.
Jordan is never someone who's been shy to speak his mind, and he's made it clear in the past that shifting inside has never been a goal of his. But as he put it, "it's the season of more," and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get back to the postseason and win a Super Bowl before he retires. After a 2023 season where he logged just 2 sacks and 43 tackles over 17 games played, both marks the lowest since his rookie season in 2011, it was clear that something had to give.
"The name of the game is whatever we’ve been doing has not been enough so we have to be able to do more," Jordan said. "If you’re not willing to embrace that, beat it.”
The biggest question for the Saints will be what three- or four-man group along the defensive front creates the biggest advantage in passing situations. Most teams call it the NASCAR package, a term popularized by the New York Giants and then-defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. It was a group that left off the traditional big-bodied defensive tackles in favor of faster, more athletic defensive ends. It helped the Giants upset the Patriots in a pair of Super Bowls.
Saints fans will remember Spagnuolo for a largely unsuccesful season as the DC in New Orleans in 2012. He's gotten back to winning ways recently as the leader of the defense in Kansas City, the winners of three of the past four Super Bowls.
This year's Saints group seems to have a similar plethora of pass-rushers to use in that scenario. We saw a glimpse of it early in the preseason opener against the Cardinals, with Carl Granderson and Chase Young lining up at the ends while Cam Jordan and Bryan Bresee manned the middle. It was 3rd and 15 deep in Cardinals territory. The Cardinals did the safe thing and ran a draw. The play went for 9 yards, but the decision effectively conceded a punt.
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Last year that NASCAR group primarily featured Bresee and Tanoh Kpassagnon on the inside and it was very effective at points, but the DE is currently recovering from a torn achilles suffered during an offseason workout. To this point it's been primarily Jordan and Payton Turner getting the work on the interior. That could change throughout the season based on effectiveness.
"It’s really about finding the best four that can work together as a group to be able to affect the passer," head coach Dennis Allen said. "And so I think right now we’re trying to look at [Cam] inside. We’re trying to look at Payton Turner inside, you know, obviously, Bresee, [Nathan] Shepherd, those guys are working inside, so hopefully that will allow us to have a little bit of depth and a little bit of rotation in terms of being able to rush the passer.”
The head coach certainly isn't blind to the fact that rushing from the inside isn't Cam's favorite thing to do, but it's a way to get his most decorated defensive lineman on the field in the most critical moments. After a 1-on-1 rep against a guard in Tuesday's practice, Allen yelled with a grin "that's a heck of an inside rush." Regardless of what Cam Jordan likes, it's clear to anyone watching that he's got the skillset to do it at a high level.
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"He’s moonlighted in there a little bit here and there, but never on a consistent basis," Allen continued, "and so I think him getting some reps inside, you know, is gonna be beneficial."
Jordan would agree. As he's gotten more reps, he's felt more and more comfortable. It's about relearning the speed, relearning techniques and playing with the proper leverage. It's about getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Whatever it takes.
"I don’t want to just be sitting here 3 years out of the playoffs talking about oh, man, we could’ve," Jordan said. "I don’t have time for could’ve. ... It’s the season of more.”