The 1-7 New York Jets made a splash Tuesday in advance of the NFL’s trade deadline, except they won’t be getting any reinforcements in time to save their season.
The Jets traded 25-year-old, two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for two first-round draft picks, according to multiple reports. Gardner appeared to confirm the news on X, saying, “New York it’s been real.”
And not long after trading Gardner, New York also parted ways with defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, sending the two-time Pro Bowler and 2022 first-team All-Pro to the Dallas Cowboys, per multiple reports. The Jets selected Williams third overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he is in the second year of a four-year, $96 million extension he signed in 2023.
New York’s more shocking move was dealing Gardner, who was the fourth overall pick in 2022, and has since become a highly decorated player. In addition to All-Pro honors, Gardner won defensive rookie of the year in 2022, leading the NFL in passes defended with 20.
He is also the only cornerback since 1970 to be named first-team All-Pro in each of his first two years in the league.
Before the season, Gardner appeared to be a cornerstone piece for the Jets. The team signed him to a four-year, $120.4 million extension in July, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the league in terms of average annual salary.
“This is only the beginning,” Gardner wrote in a post on X after signing the extension.
Earlier in the year, after a team minicamp, Gardner said, “I want to be a part of changing the organization.”
The Colts, meanwhile, are arguably the biggest surprise of this NFL season. Through nine weeks, Indianapolis is 7-2 and in first place in the AFC South. The Colts are being led by another New York castoff, quarterback Daniel Jones, who was released by the Giants last season.
Though Gardner signed an extension, he still has two years remaining on his rookie contract. That means he is currently signed with Indianapolis through the 2030 season.
The Cowboys are 3-5-1 and in 11th place in the NFC after losing three of their last four games.
The Jets, on the other hand, will now be embarking on a rebuild without two of the team’s few success stories over the last few seasons.
New York is currently tied with the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans for the fewest wins in the NFL under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn. After a failed two-year experiment with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, the Jets are still searching for answers at the position.
Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor have played QB this year, but overall, the Jets’ passer rating as a team is 88.4, in the lower third for the league, and are last in passing yards per game, at 156.5. Owner Woody Johnson criticized Fields in October.
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got,” Johnson told reporters. “I mean, he has ability, but something just is not jiving.”
