A curious thing has unfolded in the background of the 2-1 start for the New Orleans Saints.
While the defense has played well in all three contests, there has been a curious lack of Cam Jordan on the field.
So much so, Saints head coach Dennis Allen got asked about the situation after Week 3 and had quite the interesting response, according to ESPN’s Katherine Terrell: “You’re probably going to see a little bit more of Chase and Carl … Cam is still a vital part of what we do. … it’s no disrespect towards Cam, but it’s kind of how this game goes at some point in time.”
To be fair to Allen, Jordan is 35 years old now and his playing time has steadily dropped in recent years. Even so, he played 70 percent of the team’s snaps over 17 games last season, recording just two sacks in the process—down from 8.5 the year prior. But over three games this season, he’s played just 40 percent of the snaps.
Carl Granderson has upheld his end of the bargain in this changing of the guard, at least, recording three sacks in as many games. Chase Young has just 0.5 while playing 70 percent of the unit’s possible snaps.
On one hand, it’s nice the Saints won’t just up and play somebody because of big contracts. If that were the case, Jordan’s $13.8 million cap number this year, $20 million cap number in 2025 and $14.9 million cap number in 2026 would mean he never leaves the field.
But on the other, perhaps we see the Saints change course and even out the pass-rushing snaps a bit to keep everyone fresh while attempting to squeak out a little more production.
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