Cameron Jordan
 Jordan with the New Orleans Saints in 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 94 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | July 10, 1989 Chandler, Arizona, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 287 lb (130 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Chandler | ||||||||||||||
| College | California (2007–2010) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2011: 1st round, 24th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2026 | |||||||||||||||
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Cameron Tyler Jordan (born July 10, 1989) is an American professional football defensive end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, and was selected by the Saints in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. A member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Jordan is an eight-time Pro Bowler, a three-time All-Pro selection, is the Saints' all-time franchise sack leader, and currently ranks 17th all-time in sacks.
Early life
[edit]Jordan was born in Chandler, Arizona, the son of former Minnesota Vikings tight end Steve Jordan.[1] He attended Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona, where he was a two-sport star in football and track for the Chandler Wolves. In football, he earned All-State honors his senior year after registering 85 tackles and 17.5 quarterback sacks. Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Jordan was listed as the #37 strongside defensive end of the class of 2007.[2]
Also an outstanding track & field athlete, Jordan was one of the state's top performers in the discus throw. He captured the state title in the discus at the 2007 5A I State Meet, recording a top-throw of 53.54 meters (175 ft 7 in), while also placing 10th in the shot put event, with a throw of 14.01 meters (45 ft, 11 in).[3]
College career
[edit]
Jordan primarily played defensive end for the University of California at Berkeley.[4] He was coached by head coach Jeff Tedford and defensive coordinator Bob Gregory. He played in 50 of 51 possible games and made 32 starts at California from 2007 to 2010. Jordan achieved honorable mention All-American (Pro Football Weekly) and first-team All-Pac-10 Conference choice as a senior in 2010 after two consecutive honorable mention All-Pac-10 campaigns in 2008 and 2009.
He finished his collegiate career with 175 tackles, while adding 34.0 tackles for loss (−122 yards) and 16.5 sacks (−89 yards) to rank just outside the school's all-time top 10 in each of the latter two categories. He also had one interception that he returned for three yards, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries that he returned for a total of 41 yards and two touchdowns.[5][6]
Professional career
[edit]Pre-draft
[edit]On January 29, 2011, Jordan played in the 2011 Senior Bowl and was part of Marvin Lewis's North team that lost 24–10 to the South.[7] His overall performance during Senior Bowl practice helped his draft stock and made him a definitive first round pick in the upcoming draft.[8] Jordan attended the NFL Scouting Combine and performed all of the combine and positional drills.
"He gives you a lot of scheme versatility. He had a great year, a great Senior Bowl and a great combine. If Cameron Jordan went in the top 10, nobody would rip that pick based on the way he played and how he performed at the two key venues."[9]
On March 9, 2011, he participated at California's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed defensive end drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Jordan was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the second best defensive end prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com and Sports Illustrated and was ranked the third best defensive end in the draft by NFL analysts Gil Brandt and Brian Billick.[10][11][12]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Cameron Jordan's NFL Combine Workout | |
| NFL Combine Interview: Cameron Jordan |
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4+1⁄8 in (1.93 m) | 287 lb (130 kg) | 35 in (0.89 m) | 11+1⁄8 in (0.28 m) | 6 ft 10+3⁄8 in (2.09 m) | 4.76 s | 1.71 s | 2.77 s | 4.37 s | 7.07 s | 31 in (0.79 m) | 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) | 25 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine[13][14][15] | ||||||||||||
2011
[edit]The New Orleans Saints selected Jordan in the first round (24th overall) of the 2011 NFL draft.[16] Jordan was the fifth defensive end drafted in 2011, behind J. J. Watt, Robert Quinn, Ryan Kerrigan, and Adrian Clayborn.[17] He was mistakenly called by the Cleveland Browns after the draft ended, who meant to call USC tight-end Jordan Cameron for "Biographical Information".[18]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Saints draft Cameron Jordan 24th overall | |
| First Draft: Cameron Jordan | |
| NFL Draft Profile: Cameron Jordan |
On August 2, 2011, the Saints signed Jordan to a four-year, $7.73 million contract that includes $6.30 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $4.12 million.[19][20]
Jordan entered training camp slated as a starter, but saw competition for his job after the Saints signed veteran free agent Turk McBride. Head coach Sean Payton named Jordan and McBride the starting defensive ends to begin the regular season after Will Smith was suspended for the first two games of the regular season.[21][22][23]
He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Saints' season-opener at the Green Bay Packers and made three combined tackles in their 42–34 loss. Jordan made his first career tackle on running back Ryan Grant and ended a four-yard rush on the opening drive.[24] On October 16, 2011, Jordan collected a season-high six combined tackles in the Saints' 26–20 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6.[25] On January 1, 2012, Jordan recorded three combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 45–17 win against the Carolina Panthers in Week 17. Jordan sacked quarterback Cam Newton for a five-yard loss in the second quarter, but was penalized for a horse collar tackle.[26] Jordan finished his rookie season in 2011 with 31 combined tackles (18 solo), four pass deflections, and a sack in 16 games and 15 starts.[27]
The Saints finished first in the NFC South with a 13–3 record and earned a playoff berth.[28] On January 7, 2012, Jordan appeared in his first career playoff game and made one tackle in the Saints' 45–28 victory against the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round.[29] The following week, Jordan was credited with his first career playoff start. He made six solo tackles and a pass deflection during a 35–32 Divisional Round loss at the San Francisco 49ers.[30]
2012
[edit]Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was not re-signed after the 2011 season and was replaced by former St. Louis Rams' head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Spagnuolo retained Jordan and Will Smith as the starting defensive ends to begin the regular season.[31] Jordan started in the Saints' season-opener against the Washington Redskins and collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (six solo) in their 40–32 loss.[32] In Week 9, Jordan made seven combined tackles and a season-high three sacks on quarterback Michael Vick during a 28–13 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles. Jordan also forced a fumble while sacking Michael Vick for a 12-yard loss on the Eagles' opening drive.[33] Jordan started in all 16 games in 2012 and had a career-high 67 combined tackles (41 solo), three pass deflections, eight sacks, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.[34] The Saints finished with a 7–9 record in 2012.[35] Head coach Sean Payton was suspended for the entire season due to the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.[36]
2013
[edit]On January 24, 2013, the Saints fired defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo after the defense allowed an NFL record 7,042 total yards in 2012.[37] Head coach Sean Payton also announced that the defense would transition to a base 3–4 defense.[38] During the draft, NFL analyst Mike Mayock stated Jordan was better suited to play in a 3–4 defensive alignment.[8] Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan named Jordan and Akiem Hicks the starting defensive ends to begin the regular season, alongside nose tackle Brodrick Bunkley.[39]
On September 15, 2013, he collected a season-high six combined tackles and a sack in the Saints' 16–14 win at the Buccaneers.[40] In Week 3, Jordan made four combined tackles and had two sacks on Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer during a 31–7 victory against the Arizona Cardinals.[41] On November 21, 2013, Jordan tied his season-high of six combined tackles, had a season-high of 2.5 sacks, and deflected a pass in the Saints' 17–13 win at the Atlanta Falcons.[42] On December 27, 2013, Jordan was selected to appear in the 2014 Pro Bowl, which became his first Pro Bowl selection.[43] Jordan started in all 16 games in 2013 and made 47 combined tackles (29 solo), 12.5 sacks, four pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.[44]
The Saints finished second in the National Football Conference (NFC) South with an 11–5 record and earned a Wild Card berth. On January 4, 2014, Jordan made four combined tackles and had 1.5 sacks on quarterback Nick Foles in the Saints' 26–24 victory at the Eagles in the NFC Wild Card Round.[45] The following week, he made six combined tackles and sacked Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson during a 23–15 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in the