Defensive end Cam Jordan officially returned to the Saints on Tuesday by signing a one-year deal that he indicated will be his final contract as an NFL player.
If that’s the case, it will mean Jordan spends his entire 16-year career with the same team. In a press conference on Tuesday, Jordan said that the prospect of doing that loomed large in conversations with General Manager Mickey Loomis and helped him get over “a couple of bumps” in the negotiating road.
“What it comes down to is lifestyle,” Jordan said, via the team’s website. “It’s the idea that I could have played for the same team for my entire career. The loyalty streak has always run deep with me, and I think a couple of years ago me and Mickey sat down and it was like, ‘Look, man, the way you’ve played, the way you’ve handled yourself, you’ll always have a job here.’ Now, it may not be what I think I’m worth or whatever it is, but it’s always been the idea that we’ve had an open line of communication. This is where I wanted to be, and [I] got back here.”
Jordan’s legacy as a Saints great was secure with or without this year’s contract, but going out as a lifelong member of the team will only strengthen his place in the franchise’s history.
Saints Clips
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave has not played or fully practiced since Week 17 of last season. He missed the Week 18 game against the Falcons with a blood clot in his lung.
During the team’s offseason program, Olave has done only individual work.
Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football reports that Olave will get off blood thinners on June 29, clearing the way for Olave to be cleared for all football activities.
“Everything to this point is going exactly as planned,” Underhill reports.
Olave, 25, caught a career-high 100 passes for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns. He has topped 1,000 yards in three of his first four seasons.
Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only veteran player who knows the upcoming season will be his last.
Defensive end Cameron Jordan confirmed that he’s coming back to the Saints for 2026 with a video posted to social media that also includes the words, “one final season.”
That’s a clear indication that Jordan, who turns 37 in July, plans to retire after this year.
The No. 24 overall pick of the 2011 draft, Jordan has spent his entire career with New Orleans. He became the franchise leader in sacks back in 2023 and has extended his lead, posting 132.0 over the course of his career. He registered 10.5 last season.
Jordan is also the Saints’ all-time leader in games played at 243, surpassing the 228 played by quarterback Drew Brees over 15 seasons.
The Saints will begin their 2026 season with two games on the road against Detroit and Baltimore. The club will have two of its last three regular-season matchups at home, playing the Cardinals in Week 16 and the division-rival Bucs in Week 18.
Cam Jordan is back for at least one more ride.
According to multiple reports, Jordan and the Saints are finalizing a one-year deal to bring him back to the club for 2026.
This is an expected move, as Jordan was reportedly set to visit with the organization at the start of minicamp.
Jordan, who turns 37 in July, has spent his entire career with the Saints. The club selected him at No. 24 overall back in 2011 and he has been a mainstay on the team’s defense ever since. He’s started nearly every game since then, missing just one in 2022.
An eight-time Pro Bowler, Jordan has tallied 132.0 sacks 175 tackles for loss, and 248 quarterback hits in his career.
Last season, he reached double-digit sacks for the first time since 2021, tallying 10.5 in 17 games. He finished the year with 15 TFLs and 15 QB hits.
Free agent Cam Jordan is meeting with the Saints on Tuesday to discuss a potential return, his former teammate, Terron Armstead, said on “The Set.”
Matthew Paras of nola.com reports that the sides have made progress in contract talks after General Manager Mickey Loomis has met with Jordan on multiple occasions this offseason.
The Saints begin their mandatory minicamp Tuesday.
Jordan, 36, became a free agent in March, and while he has expressed interest in returning to New Orleans, he also said he was open to the idea of playing elsewhere.
The Saints added veteran pass rushers Tyree Wilson and Anfernee Jennings, but Jordan made 10.5 sacks last season. It was his first double-digit sack season since 2021.
He has 132 sacks in 15 seasons.
Coach Kellen Moore said last week that the team had no timeline for getting a deal with Jordan.
“[We’re] here to help in any possible way,” Moore said, via Paras. “We know what he means to this organization and this city, so if the opportunity presents itself and he feels comfortable and ready to go, then we’ll be ready to rock and roll.”
Saints wide receiver Chris Olave missed the Week 18 game against the Falcons with a blood clot in his lung. Five months later, he is still waiting for a return to all football activities.
Olave is not fully participating in the offseason workouts, and coach Kellen Moore said Wednesday that Olave’s workload is being monitored because of the clot.
“He hasn’t been able to do the team activities obviously throughout OTAs,” Moore said, via Matthew Paras of nola.com.
Olave, 25, caught a career-high 100 passes for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns. He has topped 1,000 yards in three of his first four seasons.
Cameron Jordan is currently a free agent.
But the Saints would like to have their longtime defensive end back for the 2026 season.
Head coach Kellen Moore told reporters on Wednesday that the organization “certainly” wants to have him on the squad.
“Contract offer available. Cam’s kind of navigating this thing on the personal side,” Moore said. “I think the world of Cam. Navigating it, and obviously here to help in any possible way. We know what he means to this organization, this city. So, if the opportunity presents itself and he feels comfortable and ready to go, we’ll be ready to rock and roll.,
“We have an offer [out to him] for a reason. So, we feel good about him and the production he had last year. And so, obviously, we’ll continue to navigate that the best we can.”
Moore added that the club hasn’t put any timeline or constraints on the offer out to Jordan. The club and player have been in conversation throughout the offseason.
“I think the biggest thing and most important thing is to be a resource,” Moore said. “Guys who have had the type of career he’s had, I think it’s important to be a resource and [say], hey, if you have any questions about the situation here, if you have anything that we can help navigate, then we want to be that portion.
“Cam’s earned the right to navigate this thing the best he can on a personal level and a professional level. So, we’ll see where it goes.”
Jordan, who turns 37 next month, registered 10.5 sacks with 15 tackles for loss and 15 QB hits in 2025 — his 15th season. The No. 24 overall pick of the 2011 draft, Jordan has registered 132.0 sacks with 175 tackles for loss and 248 quarterback hits in his strong career.
Former NFL safety Darren Sharper, who pleaded guilty or no contest a decade ago to multiple charges of rape, is moving closer to being released from custody.
Via Ramon Antonio Vargas of the Guardian, Sharper was transferred from federal prison on May 27 to either home confinement or a halfway house.
Sharper, 50, had allegedly drugged and raped (or attempted to rape) multiple women in Louisiana, California, Nevada, and Arizona. He was sentenced in August 2016 to 18 years, with credit for the time he had spent behind bars following his original arrest in February 2014.
A second-round pick of the Packers in 1997, he spent eight seasons in Green Bay, four in Minnesota, and two with the Saints. He was a member of the New Orleans team that won Super Bowl XLIV.
A court filing advocating for early release argued that it would allow Sharper “to finally receive treatment for . . . traumatic brain injuries . . . and probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy . . . disease developed from his years playing football.” That motion was denied in August 2025.
Sharper is currently due to be freed on December 27, 2028.
The Cowboys and Rams do not play in the preseason, but they both train in Southern California. Therefore, they often have joint practices during training camp, including in 2025 in Oxnard.
They will again this year, Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Thursday.
The date was not announced.
It will give new Rams edge rusher Myles Garrett a chance to practice against his hometown team. Garrett grew up in Arlington, Texas, which is home of AT&T Stadium, where the Cowboys play.
The Cowboys will also have a joint practice with the Saints, who already announced their intention to work with Dallas. The Saints and Cowboys will practice in Oxnard while the Saints are on the West Coast for a preseason game against the Rams in the second week of the exhibition season.
The Saints are coached by the Cowboys former quarterback and offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore.
Saints running back Alvin Kamara has not been attending the team’s voluntary workouts this offseason, but he changed things up by showing up for Wednesday’s OTA practice.
Kamara’s future with the team has been uncertain in the wake of Travis Etienne’s arrival as a free agent, but he’s said multiple times that he hopes to remain with the team and said on Wednesday that he has no ill will toward the team.
“On my side, I feel no beef or bad blood,” Kamara said, via Rod Walker of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “I’m going what I do every year. Working. . . I’m going to do what I do every year. I’m going to train and be ready and we’ll see what happens.”
The Saints haven’t made a firm commitment to Kamara being on the team in the fall, but head coach Kellen Moore said Wednesday that he thinks the veteran back “can fit in really well from an offensive standpoint” and everyone appears to be moving forward on the same path for the time being.
