Cam Jordan's presumed final season in black and gold has hit an early snag.
Jordan suffered a hamstring injury in last Thursday's training camp practice, and head coach Kellen Moore said on Tuesday that the veteran defensive end is expected to miss time.
“He’ll continue to evaluate it," Moore said. "Obviously he’s going to miss a little bit of time and we’ll just continue to kind of take that every few days and we’ll see where it takes us.”
He later went on to note that there's a possibility that the injury absence stretches into the regular season. The Saints are scheduled to open on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 13.
Coverage brought to you by Trane: It's Hard To Stop A TraneTrane: It's Hard To Stop A TraneJordan had participated in every practice up to that point and was in Canton over the weekend for Drew Brees' induction into the Hall of Fame. The injury absence is notable for a few reasons, the main one being that the player has been as durable as anyone in the NFL over his 15 seasons. Rarely missing a workout, Jordan has only missed two games in his career and only one due to injury. The first absence was due to COVID in the 2021 season, and the second was due to an eye injury the following season.
He experienced free agency this season for the first time since the Saints drafted him No. 24 overall in 2011, but ultimately re-signed on a 1-year deal worth $7.5 million plus incentives. The deal came after a resurgent 10-sack season that bucked what seemed to be a downward spiral over the latter stages of a likely Hall of Fame career.
Jordan's absence will mean an increased emphasis on Carl Granderson and Chase Young on the edges, as well as more reps to go around between another former first-round pick in Tyree Wilson and free agent pickup Anfernee Jennings. The Saints traded a 5th round pick to the Raiders in exchange for Wilson during the most recent NFL draft. The former Texas Tech standout is in the final year of his rookie deal. The Saints have also lost DT Bryan Bresee for the season due to a torn ACL.
“We certainly feel good about our depth in that position," Moore continued. "We’ve got some really talented players on the edge. You can view it as a strength of our football team. We’re going to need multiple guys to play throughout the season no matter what, and that’s just the inevitable elements of the NFL, and so we’ll take the time to kind of evaluate where Cam is at, see where it looks here throughout training camp and then these other guys will be ready to go.”
The Saints will be back on the field for an abbreviated, unpadded practice on Wednesday, followed by a joint practice with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday in Metairie. That practice will be open to the public. The two teams will then face off at the Caesars Superdome on Saturday.
