NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Saints all-time sack leader Cameron Jordan agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract to remain with the club for what the 16th-year veteran says will be his final NFL season.
“I definitely am going to take to this like every game is my last," Jordan said. "I’m going to treat it like it’s the final season.”
Jordan, a free agent since the end of last season, said ending his career with New Orleans — and spending the entirety of it with one franchise — was important to him.
“There’s no amount of money in the league that can make me say, ‘Just turn your back on everything that you built,’" said Jordan, who posted a team-high 10 1/2 sacks last season. “This is where I wanted to be and got back here.”
Financial terms of the contract have not been disclosed, but Jordan, who turns 37 on July 10, suggested the deal he accepted from the Saints was not as lucrative as offers he received from other teams.
“There was no match," Jordan said, adding, "The loyalty streak has always run deep with me.
“It was mutual benefit for us to come back. The way that I want to affect this city. I don’t think that’s ever going to stop,” Jordan said, mentioning the longstanding charitable work of his foundation in the area.
Jordan also noted that his four children have been born and raised in New Orleans and wanted to stay.
“It’s become home for us,” he said, adding that it would “feel wrong to be in another city, not giving back to this city.”
A Saints first-round draft choice in 2011 and a defensive captain for the past decade, Jordan has 132 career sacks, which ranks 17th in NFL history.
Jordan also has 17 forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries, three interceptions, 67 pass breakups, 175 tackles for loss, 248 quarterback hits and blocked one kick in his career.
In 2017, Jordan was an AP All-Pro. His eight Pro Bowl selections is a franchise high for a defensive player.
While Jordan's contract agreement came on the first day of Saints mandatory minicamp, he did not practice and was unsure if he would practice on Wednesday. He said he still has to undergo a physical and expects to at least attend meetings this week.
Jordan joined the Saints two seasons after their only championship.
New Orleans' 2018 squad got close to making it back to the Super Bowl, falling to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime of an NFC title game affected by what the league later acknowledged was a missed call by officials in the final two minutes of regulation.
Rather than chase a championship with a team favored to contend this season, Jordan decided he preferred to help the Saints improve on their six victories in 2025.
Jordan has been part of six Saints playoffs teams (2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020) and said he would not sell short his chances of being part of a seventh this season.
“When you look at our roster, you see the growth," Jordan said. “If I can push my teammates to be the best version of them, how much farther can we go as a team?
“I’m going to keep on believing,” he said.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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