It was one thing when New Orleans Saints fans, media and perhaps even past and present teammates suggested that defensive end Cameron Jordan never should wear an NFL uniform other than a Saints uniform.
But it was something else entirely when Executive Vice President/General Manager Mickey Loomis said Jordan will play for the Saints for as long as Jordan wants during an interview earlier this month on SiriusXM, and added that he expects Jordan to be added to the Saints Ring of Honor and to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Consider it music to Jordan's ears.
"That's a huge blessing," he said on Thursday, the final day of the Saints’ mandatory minicamp. "I want what I've always wanted, to be Black and Gold. I've said that plenty of times, whether I play 15 years or 16 years, I want to be here.
"I love the fact that we've been in this locker room for so long, and I've seen three locker room changes. I love the fact that whether we've had different defensive coordinators or a different defensive line, that I've still had success here and I see myself as a pseudo-New Orleanian. My kids are New Orleanians – they're straight 504 babies. They were all born over there at Touro. So New Orleans is home my way."
The 33-year-old Jordan, who has accumulated a franchise-record 115.5 sacks since being drafted in the first round (No. 24 overall) in 2011, only can be rivaled by Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Rickey Jackson in terms of production as a Saints defender.
Jordan has 219 quarterback hits, 15 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries, 58 passes defensed and two interceptions – on returned for a touchdown – in his career. Since registering just one sack as a rookie, he has averaged 10.4 per season and has posted six seasons of 10 or more.
And still, the three-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowler is greedy when it comes to practice reps. After missing Wednesday's minicamp practice – Coach Dennis Allen jokingly cited old age – Jordan was back on the field Thursday.
"I was fighting for reps today and I didn't get any," said Jordan, whose off-field contributions to the community rival his on-field production. "I get that it's minicamp, but I don't get it. I want them all. If I don't want them all, I don't know what that means for me. Every time we take the field there's opportunities there, and I want every opportunity."
That said, the veteran otherwise doesn't appear to be all that impressed with minicamp.
"The three days of minicamp? Everybody looks fast, everybody looks great, everybody looks special without pads," he said. "I don't care until we get to the live bullets. I think right now, everybody is working on technique, which is phenomenal, and I love that we can come together as a team and put some situations on film.
"But everybody is going to look great in a two-minute drill with no pads on and everybody zoned in. Give me that two-minute drill in training camp when everybody's got pads on, everybody's tired, you've gone through 14 periods and things are getting thick. Give me that film, and then we can talk about it.
"We have a lot of poise and are in a position to be good, but who cares about June? You don't win any games in June. You win the mentality in June. You can put yourself in position to win the games in June, just with everybody being here and being bought in.
"But until we put pads on, until we actually take the field, I can say we look great, I can say it looks phenomenal, everybody looks fast – you see (receiver Chris) Olave go over the top of somebody (Wednesday), you see the tight ends making some plays (Thursday) in the middle – let's put pads on and see if we're making the same plays."
One thing the Saints have been able to count on, since 2011, is that when the pads or on, Jordan will make plays. Word is that the Saints will be the only NFL franchise he'll make plays for, and that suits Jordan just fine.
