The Saints and Cameron Jordan have agreed to a re-worked contract, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Saints have now created $4.8MM in cap space by converting the defensive end’s $6MM roster bonus into a signing bonus. His cap number for 2016 is now $8MM. 
[RELATED: Saints Want To Extend Drew Brees’ Contract]
Jordan signed a five year, $55MM contract extension with the Saints in June of 2015. In the three seasons prior to that deal, Jordan racked up 28 total sacks, including 12.5 in his Pro Bowl 2013 season. Interestingly, after recording a +35.3 grade as a pass rusher in ’13, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Jordan’s pass-rushing grade fell to -7.9 in 2014, as he totaled just 7.5 sacks. However, PFF considered the 25-year-old an above average defensive end against the run.
In 2015, Jordan proved that he’s worth the big bucks as he finished the year as PFF’s sixth-ranked DE with an overall grade of 90.1 (under the 1-100 evaluation scale; sub. req’d). On the year, Jordan recorded 10.0 sacks and 45 total tackles as he played in all 16 games. Since breaking into the league in 2011, Jordan has yet to miss a regular season contest.
Last week, the Saints also restructured the deal of linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, giving themselves more financial flexibility for the upcoming season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
At some point, the Saints are going to need a complete rebuild. They are consistently right up against the cap and need to shift money to later years just to be able to do anything in a given offseason. The potential extension for Brees will help some, but moves like this just perpetuate the vicious cycle.
I agree. I can’t help but feel like the Saints keep pushing off the inevitable. Why not bite the bullet now?