National Football League

Saints extend defensive end Cameron Jordan through 2020

Published Jun. 2, 2015 12:28 p.m. ET

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METAIRIE, La. (AP) The New Orleans Saints' brass appears confident that defensive end Cameron Jordan's dip in sacks last season was not the start of a trend.

Jordan signed a contract extension on Tuesday that runs through the 2020 season and is worth up to $60 million, with $34 million guaranteed, said Jordan's agent, Doug Hendrickson of Relativity Football.

''New Orleans has become my home and I look forward to continue making an impact both on and off the field for a long time here,'' Jordan said in a statement released by the club.

The 6-foot-4, 287-pound Jordan was New Orleans' first of two first-round draft choices in 2011 and was entering the final season of his rookie contract.

''Since his arrival, Cameron has progressed into one of the core players on our team both on and off the field,'' Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. ''He's had a great start to his career here and we're excited about him being one of the mainstays to our defense moving forward.''

Jordan has 29 sacks and five forced fumbles in his career, including a team-best 12 1/2 sacks in 2013, when the Saints ranked fourth in the NFL defensively. Last season, Jordan's sack total dipped to 7 1/2 - his third-lowest total in four seasons - as New Orleans' defense struggled as a whole, ranking 31st in the league.

But Jordan also has remained healthy and reliable, playing in every game during the first four seasons of his career.

The Saints have largely overhauled their defense heading into the 2015 season, but Jordan, who'll turn 26 next month, remains an incumbent starter on the edge of the line and is now set up to remain so for the rest of this decade.

Jordan is a second-generation NFL player. His father, Steve, was a 13-year tight end with the Minnesota Vikings.

The younger Jordan starred as a defensive end in college for California before the Saints made him a 24th overall draft pick.

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

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