METAIRIE, La. -- Cameron Jordan was taken aback by the New Orleans Saints’ trade of Akiem Hicks on Wednesday.
Not only did Jordan lose a friend and longtime teammate, whom he said “has been like a brother to me,” but Jordan marveled at how young the Saints’ defensive line group has become over the past year.
“It took us all by surprise,” said Jordan, who pointed out that the Saints now have only three veteran defensive linemen to go with six rookies (five on the active roster, one on the practice squad), as well as rookies in the rotation at linebacker and cornerback.
“Honestly the organization must feel pretty strongly about ‘em. And I can only hope that we’re turning in the right direction for this team,” Jordan said. “I mean, we’re 0-3 right now so it can't be too right. And at this point, we've got to find a way to make an immediate impact.”
Jordan said the young guys have “a lot of potential.” But he added, “We’re still trying to mold out what we’re going to be. We have to try and figure that out ASAP.”
“As you know, a couple years ago, when it was me, Junior (Galette), Akiem, John Jenkins, Tom Johnson, you knew what we were doing, we were getting after the quarterback. When it was last year, it was me, Junior, Akiem, John, and you knew we were a physical front,” Jordan said. “This year, we’ve got a lot of young guys and we’re cultivating. Their learning curve is definitely fast. And at this point, we’re still establishing what kind of defense we’re gonna be.”
Saints coach Sean Payton said it was precisely the rise of those young defensive linemen that made Hicks expendable in Wednesday’s trade to the New England Patriots for veteran tight end Michael Hoomanawanui.
The move was a bit of a head-scratcher since Hicks had been a starter for two-plus years and had once shown so much potential for the Saints after being drafted in the third round in 2012. But Hicks’ role was diminishing even before the trade. He was demoted to a backup role midway through Week 2.
Payton said it’s “not unusual” for a trade to come together like this, where the Saints had “been looking for some depth at the tight end position, and at the same time we felt like we had a handful of young defensive linemen.” Payton also pointed out that the Saints and Patriots were familiar with each other’s rosters after practicing together during training camp this year.
Undrafted rookie Bobby Richardson already had replaced Hicks as the starter in New Orleans’ base defense. The Saints also have fifth-round pick Tyeler Davison and undrafted rookies Tavaris Barnes, Kaleb Eulls and Obum Gwacham on the active roster.
Payton started with Richardson and Davison while listing the players who have earned more snaps as the season has gone on.
When asked if the trade had anything to do with Hicks being disenchanted with his role on the team, Payton said, “No, not at all.”
“He’s been fantastic as a teammate and as a guy that works. I mean that,” Payton said. “We’d have good visits up in the office, talking about the position, talking about the offseason and the weight that we wanted him at. He’s been fantastic to coach. It was really a decision just based on the younger players that we were wanting to get more work with.
“And I think it has a chance to be a real good fit for him (in New England), and vice versa.”
Jordan agreed that Hicks landed in a great spot.
“I guess it's just one of those things, part of the nature of the business. But Akiem has been my guy for four years. He's been like a brother to me. So I can only wish him the best,” Jordan said. “He's landed with a team that's 3-0 right now and hopefully he gets a chance to really ball out.”
