3 Saints who are playing for their jobs over the final 3 weeks of the NFL season

The cliche when you're on a 5-9 team in the NFL with three games remaining and only a molecule of a chance to make the playoffs is "playing for pride."

There is that, but more important to many players in such situations is to play to survive — as in keep your career going. That is facing Saints defensive end Cam Jordan, 35, defensive end Chase Young, 25, and third-string quarterback Jake Haener, 25, for different reasons.

The Saints finish their regular season at Green Bay (10-4) on Monday, against Las Vegas (2-12) on Dec. 29, and at Tampa Bay (8-6) on the final weekend.

1. DE Cam Jordan

One of former Saints' coach Dennis Allen's last mistakes was deciding to diminish the role of 14-year veteran defensive end Cam Jordan early this season. In a 23-22 loss at Carolina on Nov. 3, Jordan logged all of 10 snaps — a career low for the eight-time Pro Bowl player and member of the 2010s NFL All-Decade team.

Once Allen's role was diminished after that loss, which was the team's seventh straight for a 2-7 start, Jordan was born again under interim coach Darren Rizzi and new defensive line coach Brian Young. Rizzi promoted Young from pass rush specialist immediately after taking over and demoted defensive line coach Todd Grantham to an analyst position. Grantham later left to become defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Over the Saints' five games under Rizzi in which the Saints are 3-2, Jordan got all three of his sacks on the season, 14 of his 20 quarterback hurries, 13 of his 25 tackles and two of his four passes defensed. The three sacks in five games come after he had two in 17 games in 2023. And he got two of the sacks Sunday for 120.5 in his career against probably the hardest quarterback in the NFL to catch — Jayden Daniels — in the Saints' 20-19 loss. And Jordan chased him as well as anyone all game long.

Jordan has not looked like a man ready to call it a career just yet, but he does have only one year remaining on his contract after this season. And the Saints are not exactly loaded at his position, so there is a chance he could play his way into another contract extension over the next three games.

"Am I supposed to slow down?," Jordan asked pointedly to reporters after the Washington game on Sunday. "Sure, if that's what up top has told you."

And the Saints' media relations person quickly said, "Thank you, Cam," ending the five-minute press conference. Jordan was hinting that perhaps Allen was not alone in his decision to decrease his role. Was embattled Saints general manager Mickey Loomis also involved in that decision?

"Cam was disappointed in his playing time earlier in the season. That was documented. That's not a big secret," Rizzi said.

He showed why Sunday.

"Does it feel great to be sitting at 120 and a half sacks? Yeah," he said. "Would it have felt better with the win? Absolutely. With three games left, got to be able to make the most of those. But if it's not about winning, I really don't want to talk about it."

Look for Jordan to close fast, as he did against Daniels throughout Sunday. After a reporter said Jordan showed top speed in forcing Daniels out of bounds on a scramble, Jordan shot back, "What's new? Are you saying something that you never knew?"

2. DE Chase Young

Saints' free agent defensive end Chase Young is 2.5 sacks away from a career-high of 8 after being taken second in the 2020 NFL Draft from Ohio State. He has 5.5 this season. As a rookie at Washington, he collected 7.5 sacks and did not equal that until last year 5 for Washington and 2.5 for San Francisco.

Like Jordan, Young has experienced a resurgence under Rizzi and pass rush specialist/defensive line coach Brian Young. Of his 5.5 sacks this season, 3.5 have come since Rizzi took over. He signed a one-year deal when he joined the Saints, so he could see the next three games as playing for his next team or for whome ever becomes the Saints' next coach.

"Kudos to Chase," Jordan said after the Washington game. "He's really turned it on these last few weeks. I think that's the edge that he's had going into this final turn."

3. QB Jake Haener

The Saints' third-team quarterback at the moment may need a good game, or part of a good game, over the final three to stay in the league. The fourth-round pick out of Fresno State in 2023 started his first NFL game Sunday against Washington, and it did not go well.

He completed 4 of 10 passes for 49 yards with an interception and took three sacks before being benched in the second half for Spencer Rattler while down 17-0. Rattler completed 10 of 21 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown and brought the team back in a 20-19 loss. Only an incompletion on a two-point conversion on the last play kept the Saints from winning.

Haener is 18-of-39 passing for 46 percent and 226 yards with an interception and a touchdown this season. He's in trouble because he might not get to play again or very much over the rest of this season. Rattler is improving and likely to start Monday night at Green Bay, unless injured regular starter Derek Carr (broken left, non-throwing hand) returns.