For a while, Cameron Jordan looked like the kind of veteran swing the Chiefs might actually make. Kansas City fans had every reason to circle his name: he was fresh off a 10.5-sack season, and the pass rush could use that kind of punch even with Jordan now 37.
Instead, Jordan stayed put with the New Orleans Saints, the only team he’s ever played for. That initially stung for Chiefs fans who wanted help up front, but the way things have played out since then makes the miss look a little different now.
Jordan is dealing with a hamstring injury, and there’s a real chance it could carry into the start of the 2026 regular season. Saints coach Kellen Moore addressed the situation with reporters and didn’t sound eager to force the timeline.
"It could possibly get into the season, but you never know," Moore said. "[You need] to have some patience with it, let it take its course and we'll collect more information as we go."
That kind of setback would have landed differently in Kansas City because Jordan has built his reputation on being available. Before this hamstring issue, he had missed only one game because of injury.
The other absence came after he tested positive for COVID-19 during the league’s COVID protocols. Outside of that, he’s been about as reliable as they come.
And that’s part of why Chiefs fans could have talked themselves into him in the first place. A proven pass rusher with that track record would have made sense. But if this injury had popped up in Kansas City, it probably would have felt like the latest chapter in a frustrating trend.
The Chiefs have spent recent seasons battling injuries, and it all came to a head last year when they won just six games and missed the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. The problem hasn’t gone away this summer either, with Omarr Norman-Lott and Ashton Gillotte both dealing with injuries.
Kansas City did add Peter Woods and R Mason Thomas in the draft, but Jordan would have brought a different kind of boost to the group. As it stands, though, the Chiefs may have avoided getting pulled deeper into the same injury mess that has already followed them around.
Now it’s on Jordan to get healthy for New Orleans, while Kansas City hopes its pass rush ends up exceeding expectations anyway.
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