Football

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan excels on field while giving back with God Iz Love Foundation

By Kevin Mercer Jan 7, 2022
New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) rushes the quarterback, Jan. 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Derick Hingle)

NFL fans have come to expect it from Cam Jordan, but the New Orleans Saints defensive end is putting up yet another impressive season in 2021-22.

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Jordan was named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week this week for the second time in less than a month (he also earned the award in Week 15) after recording season highs with eight combined tackles and 3.5 sacks in New Orleans’ 18-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.

Jordan joins Arizona’s Chandler Jones and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt as the only players to have won the award multiple times this year.

The 11-year pro out of the University of California now sits at 11.5 sacks this season — the sixth time he’s reached double digits — and 106 career QB takedowns. He’s also earned his fifth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl this year, which will be his seventh overall.

What’s more, with his two-sack performance in Week 15 against Tampa Bay, Jordan became just the third active player to eclipse the 100-sack plateau behind only Jones and the Rams’ Von Miller.

Jordan tweeted about his accomplishment afterward, and was asked about it in the postgame press conference.

“It feels good,” he said. “God has blessed me truly to not only be healthy, to play throughout the whole game, to play these last 11 years, to accumulate the amount of sacks that I have. I mean I first and foremost want to thank Jesus Christ.”

Thanks in large part to Jordan’s production, the Saints boast the fourth-best scoring defense (19.7 points per game) in the NFL and remain in playoff contention heading into the final week of the season. New Orleans is 8-8, one game behind San Francisco and Philadelphia for the final wild-card spot. To earn a postseason berth, New Orleans must win at Atlanta and the Rams must beat San Francisco. This scenario has a 40 percent chance of happening, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen knows how important Jordan is to his defense.

“I just can’t say enough about what he means to our team, the defense, the team in general, our organization, the way he represents himself both on and off the field,” he said about Jordan after beating the Bucs.

Jordan may leave it all on the field on Sundays, but on his days off, his focus is to give back to the community. Last month, Jordan was named the Saints’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for the second time in his career (2017). The award is given annually to an NFL player to honor his volunteer work as well as his excellence on the field.

In the press release naming Jordan as the team’s Man of the Year nominee, he said, “I’ve always been passionate about community service, because as a kid I saw first-hand the off-the-field impact and platform my father had having played in the National Football League. I understand the impact we as NFL players can have on our youth, under-served communities and just taking advantage of the opportunities to make the world a better place.

“It means the world to me that I may uplift someone with my time, resources, or encouragement. I am blessed to have the ability to give back to this community that has welcomed me with open arms since being drafted ten years ago.”

Jordan is known for visiting schools and youth programs, sometimes bringing along his wife, Nikki. Together, the couple also started the God Iz Love Foundation, “with a mission to create positive change not only in the lives of youth, but for the betterment of the community. The Foundation’s vision is to be committed to creating positive change through youth development initiatives starting in New Orleans, with the power and love of God’s light. The Jordans believe that the hope of change starts with this generation, and the responsibility continues to the next. By providing resources, positive interactions, innovative activations and experiences, God Iz Love will help foster positive influence and opportunities that inspires a brighter future.”

In December 2020, Jordan also joined an initiative to combat racism and promote community engagement for police officers in New Orleans.

The final regular-season game for Jordan and his Saints teammates against the Falcons is scheduled for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Rams and 49ers will play at the same time.

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