Saints Officially Rule Out Cam Jordan for Season Opener

The inevitable has officially become reality in New Orleans. Saints head coach Kellen Moore has formally ruled out defensive end Cam Jordan for Sunday's season opener due to a lingering hamstring injury.

NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported the move, noting that Jordan missing the start of the season was already the expectation in the building. Now, the paperwork is just filed and the absence is official.

"NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported that the expectation was always that Jordan would miss the start of the season."

Hamstring injuries for veteran defensive linemen are basically the check engine light on a high-mileage truck. You do not just put a piece of tape over the dashboard and hope it passes inspection. Jordan has been the anchor of this defense for over a decade, but soft tissue issues do not care about your resume.

For Kellen Moore, kicking off his tenure as the head guy in New Orleans without his most recognizable pass rusher is a tough draw. If you are looking at the betting board and thinking about taking the under or backing the Saints' defense, you might want to recalculate how much pressure they can actually generate without him on the edge.

The real question now shifts from Sunday to the rest of September. The team expected him to miss the start of the year, but hamstring timelines are notoriously slippery. Until Jordan is actually back in pads, the Saints' defensive front is going to have to figure out how to survive without its captain.