I was playing in the game when Steven Gerrard slipped. I felt sorry for him, he deserved to win at least one Premier League - maybe he could have gone to another club and won five Nemanja Matic on the Liverpool legend
ATLANTA -- New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan never lost faith in himself.
In Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a venue where he has had so many successes over the years, he showed one more time why that faith wasn't in vain. When Jordan sacked Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins early in the first quarter, he held up 10 fingers in celebration.
It was one of several moments of joy for the Saints' defense on Sunday. They combined for four sacks, with both Jordan and Chase Young crossing the double-digit threshold.
"I was more excited for Chase than me. I mean, I knew I was going to get one. ... It's awesome. It's been a while since the Saints have had two double-digit sack guys the same year," Jordan said.
Jordan finished the season with 10.5 sacks, his most since 2021, pushing him to 132 in his career, which ranks 17th all time. Young finished with a career-high 10 sacks despite playing in just 12 games.
The Saints (6-10) capped off the 2025 season with a 19-17 loss to the Falcons (8-9), eliminating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from playoff contention and sealing a NFC South title for the Carolina Panthers.
The Saints have now missed the postseason for five straight years, but they will head into an offseason with optimism thanks to the play of young players such as rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, who has garnered attention for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award.
For Jordan and veteran linebacker Demario Davis and quarterback Taysom Hill, who have been with the team through several regime changes, the future is unclear. There is no certainty that the trio, all of whom will become free agents in the offseason, will be in Saints uniforms for the 2026 season.
Jordan said ending the season is bittersweet because the locker room has bonded this year. But he knows change will happen as soon as the offseason begins.
"This time eight months from now, the locker room will have to start over. You don't know the interchange of pieces," Jordan said. "Cam Jordan's in Year 15, Demario Davis is in Year 14. You got guys looking for new contracts. You got to pay Chris Olave wide receiver 1 money for everything that he does. You've got to figure out a way to make it all shape. And I think for whatever reason, the locker room won't be the same. But hopefully the core guys, the guys that want to be here will be here."
Hill started the season on the physically unable to perform list after rehabbing a serious knee injury from the previous season. He ended the season with an injury, leaving late in the game with a right shoulder issue.
Hill, 35, became emotional a few weeks ago after the Saints' home finale against the New York Jets, but said he would tackle his future, and whether he continues to play, "down the road."
"I have so much love for the city of New Orleans and this fan base and the way that they've embraced me and my family. It's been really special. So I wouldn't want to play somewhere else, but there's a lot of circumstances that are out of your control too, right?" he said in December.
Davis and Jordan were clear on Sunday that they want to play in 2026, for whichever team that might be.
"I'm more than willing. I think my play says I'm elite," Jordan said, before saying he would first talk with his wife Nikki before making the ultimate decision. "I said get me through [Year] 15 and we'll see where it takes us. So I'll defer to her and after that it'll just be if numbers make sense."
Jordan bet on himself in 2025 by agreeing to a restructured contract that pushed most of his salary into incentives. He earned more than $2.3 million back via bonuses for playtime and sacks.
"I have fun hitting people, yeah, it's the name of the game. I've never not had fun hitting people. Now, if you're not feeling appreciated, sometimes you have to go where you're appreciated. I think at the end of the day, I've appreciated every moment I've ever had in New Orleans and I foresee myself playing. I don't even know how many more years, but again, physically wise, I feel like I'm primed for a longer career."
Jordan acknowledged the Saints have been trying to get younger on defense with players such as Young and Carl Granderson, both of whom he deemed "a hell of a player."
Losing the veteran leadership like himself and Davis would likely represent a seismic shift for the defense. Young said that was something he hadn't even wanted to think about yet, crediting both of them for his success in the past two seasons.
"I knew I found a home where God put me in a place with two veteran players that could kind of teach me the ways of just the league," Young said, saying Jordan was a future "gold jacket player."
"When I came in the league, I didn't really have that. I come on this team. ... You got people like that leading the way, you have to hold yourself to a certain standard because you see it every day."
Davis, who had a career-high 143 tackles this season, said he feels like the Saints' future is bright, thanks to Shough and the young players. He spent more than three minutes Sunday praising individual players and raving about what is in store down the road.
As the offseason officially begins, Davis, like others, is now in "wait and see" mode about whether he's a part of that future.
"I think I don't have to speak about what this organization means to me, but at the same time, I don't have so much say-so in where my journey goes, as a servant of the man above, I go where I'm sent and I certainly don't close a book before it's supposed to be closed, but when new chapters happen, I have to be open to go," Davis said. "Yeah, I love it here, but at the same time, I never can project what's going to happen next."
