Buckle up—a Sauce Gardner trade today just shook up the NFL landscape at the trade deadline! Hours before the 4:00 PM ET cutoff, the New York Jets traded All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts for two first-round picks, according to multiple reports. This isn’t just a blockbuster—it’s a franchise-altering nuclear move that could mark the end of the Aaron Glenn era and the beginning of a complete rebuild.
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Sauce Gardner Trade Details
Teams: New York Jets → Indianapolis Colts
Player: CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner
Compensation: Two first-round picks (more info to come)
Trade Date: November 4, 2025 (2:47 PM ET, per Ian Rapoport)
Gardner himself confirmed it on social media before Schefter and Rap broke the news, posting: “New York it’s been real💚” — a simple, clean goodbye to Jets fans who watched him become one of the league’s elite defenders over three seasons.
WHO IS SAUCE GARDNER
Gardner is a bonafide superstar. The 4th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati, he’s been one of the most dominant cornerbacks in football since Day 1.
Career Resume:
- 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year
- 2x First-team All-Pro (2022, 2023) — only CB since the 1970 merger to earn first-team All-Pro honors in each of his first two seasons
- 2x Pro Bowl (2022, 2023)
- 201 career tackles, 3 INTs, 46 passes defensed in 55 games
- Led the NFL with 20 passes defensed in 2022
Here’s the kicker: just four months ago, the Jets signed Gardner to a 4-year, $120.4 million extension making him the highest-paid corner in NFL history at $30.1 million per year. That deal was supposed to lock him in as the face of their defense through 2028. Instead, the Jets are eating dead cap and shipping him out for draft capital.
WHY THE JETS TRADED Sauce: THE REBUILD IS REAL
The Jets are 1-7 and dead last in the AFC East. Aaron Glenn’s coaching experiment has been a disaster, and ownership might blow it all up. Trading Sauce Gardner—their best defensive player—signals one thing: full rebuild.
Key reasons:
- Financial reset: The Jets get out from under Gardner’s $120M deal and recoup two first-rounders
- Draft capital for a QB: With two extra first-round picks (2026, 2027), the Jets now have the ammo to trade up for a franchise quarterback in the 2026 draft
- Seller’s market: At 1-7, the Jets are done competing this year—they’re cashing out while Gardner still has elite value
- Injury concerns: Gardner missed time in 2024 and hasn’t been the same lockdown corner he was in 2022-2023
Draft Pick Ammo for Jets
Here’s where it gets interesting, props fam. The Jets are 1-7, which means they’re on track for a top-3 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. With their own first-rounder plus two more from the Colts (2026 and 2027), the Jets now have the ammunition to move up and grab their guy.
2026 QB Class Top Prospects:
- Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) — 6’5″, 225 lbs. Leading undefeated Indiana to an 8-0 start, completing 72% of passes with elite ball placement. Mock drafts have him going #1 overall to the Jets.
- Dante Moore (Oregon) — 6’3″, 206 lbs. Former UCLA transfer who’s taken complete command of Oregon’s offense.
- Ty Simpson (Alabama) — 6’2″, 208 lbs. Cerebral assassin with elite poise and accuracy. Only eight starts but vaulting up draft boards.
- John Mateer (Washington State) — Rising prospect with elite arm talent and mobility.
- LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) — Athletic dual-threat QB with first-round upside.
Jets’ Draft Capital in 2026:
- Jets’ own 1st-round pick (currently projected top-3)
- Colts’ 2026 1st-round pick (projected mid-to-late first round)
- Jets’ 2nd-round pick
The Play: If the Jets fall to let’s say No. 2 or No. 3 overall, they can package their own pick + the Colts’ 2026 first-rounder to trade up to #1 overall and take their franchise QB. The 2026 class isn’t as stacked as some previous years, but Mendoza and Moore are legitimate top-tier prospects.
Why The Colts Traded For Sauce Gardner
Indianapolis is 7-2 and in first place in the AFC. They must believe in Daniel Jones. However, the “old version” surely showed up against Pittsburgh last week. If they extend Jones and we see some regression, this trade could set them back years.
However, record-wise, they’re legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and adding Gardner gives them an elite shutdown corner to pair with their already-dominant defense (7th in NFL scoring defense).
Colts’ perspective:
- Win-now mode: At 7-2, they’re one game away from matching their entire 2024 win total—the window is open
- Long-term security: Gardner is signed through 2028 on his extension, giving Indy a cornerstone defensive piece for years
- Playoff push: They need secondary help to compete with the AFC’s elite passing offenses
- Gardner’s first playoffs: He’s never played a postseason game—this is his shot
The Colts are betting they can win a ring in the next 2-3 years, and Gardner’s the missing piece.
Sauce Gardner Contract
Gardner’s extension (signed July 2025):
- 4 years, $120.4 million
- $30.1 million per year (highest-paid CB at time of signing)
- Significant guaranteed money front-loaded
The Colts inherit the remaining years through 2028, committing to paying Gardner elite money for the next three seasons. The Jets eat dead cap but gain $80M+ in future cap relief.
What Are The Jets Doing
For the Jets: Full rebuild. Expect more trades before the deadline, and the franchise will tank for a top-3 pick in 2026. With three first-round picks in 2026 (their own + two from Colts), they have the ammo to trade up for a franchise QB like Fernando Mendoza or Dante Moore.
What Are The Colts Doing
For Gardner: He escapes the dumpster fire in New York and joins a 7-2 Colts team with legitimate Super Bowl hopes. His first playoff game is finally on the horizon.
For the Colts: They’re all-in for a championship run. This trade signals they believe their window is now, and they’re willing to mortgage future draft capital to win in 2025.
When you cut through the noise, this is the Jets waving the white flag and starting fresh. Two first-round picks give them the draft capital to land a franchise quarterback—finally—and build around a young core. Gardner gets his shot at a ring, the Colts get their shutdown corner, and the Jets get hope for the future.
