The Colts have been in the market for cornerback help; they are not skimping on price. A deal is in place that will send Sauce Gardner from New York to Indianapolis, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports.
The Jets will move on months after making Gardner the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. Indianapolis will send two first-round picks to the Jets for Gardner, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Gardner already thanked the Jets (via X), as his through-2030 contract is moving to the Colts’ payroll. A player is also heading to New York in trade, per NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero. That player is not yet known.
This is a wildly out-of-character move for Colts GM Chris Ballard, who has shied away from pricey outside acquisitions during his nine-year tenure. But this offseason brought a shift. Ballard made good on a promise to be more open to outside spending, paying up for Charvarius Ward and Camryn Bynum. Indianapolis, which already has Kenny Moore on a high-end slot CB contract, has now flooded its secondary with expensive contracts.
Other teams called the Jets on Gardner, according to veteran insider Jordan Schultz. It had appeared Gardner was untouchable, as the Jets had extended him in July. But the 1-7 team will aggressively lean into a rebuild, with the two first-rounders becoming lead assets in the Aaron Glenn-Darren Mougey regime’s effort to return the Jets to contention.
Gardner and Garrett Wilson loomed as the top pieces to trade, if the Jets were serious about obtaining top draft capital, but lower-level moves — like deals involving Michael Carter II, Quincy Williams and Allen Lazard — were rumored. The team was believed to be listening on Quinnen Williams, but a trade is not viewed as likely. Now, however, the team certainly appears more open to blowing it up.
More to come.
