The Indianapolis Colts are trading two first-round draft picks to the New York Jets for star cornerback Sauce Gardner, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a massive deal ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
The Jets will receive 2026 and 2027 first-round selections, along with AD Mitchell, the receiver Indianapolis selected in the second round of the 2024 draft.
Gardner had just signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension this offseason with New York.
Now, just months later, he gets traded to the 7-2 Colts.
“New York it’s been real,” Gardner wrote on social media.
Gardner, the fourth pick in the 2022 draft, was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022. He’s the only cornerback since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to be named first-team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons.
The Jets signed him in July, securing a long-term deal with what was expected to be a franchise cornerstone just 24 hours after they reached a long-term extension with wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
But 2025 has gone poorly for the Jets under first-year coach Aaron Glenn, with the team 1-7. Gardner missed Week 8 with a concussion, although Glenn said Monday that he was completing the protocol and was expected to return to practice this week.
The Colts have been far different, with one of the league’s biggest surprises holding the best record in the AFC along with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. Their pass defense has been solid even without Gardner; their 10 interceptions rank third in the NFL and their 6.8 average yards allowed per attempt rank 12th.