Five Thoughts On The Colts’ Massive Trade For Sauce Gardner

Breaking down the Colts’ stunning waste and acquisition deadline move for Sauce Gardner is simply a spot for illustration being a precocious schooler astatine a bourbon tasting. There’s surely a euphoria progressive alongside tasting notes that get alien and much analyzable nan longer you swill it around. The full acquisition could be, each astatine once, tummy churning, wholly awesome and thing you whitethorn determine you ne'er want to do again. 

Within nan first 10 minutes of nan trade, while reaching retired to a fewer folks astir nan league, I couldn’t determine whether to emotion nan waste and acquisition aliases despise it. In those moments, a bully therapist mightiness propose penning your thoughts down to summation clarity. So, that’s precisely what we’ll do. 

Here are 5 of them connected what is by acold nan astir shocking infinitesimal of this year’s deadline. 

Before seeing nan compensation, I feared this was nan enactment of a caller Jets authorities blaming its ain failures connected personification else’s players and utilizing that agelong runway to create nan illusion of a rebuild. After seeing nan compensation—two first-round picks and receiver Adonai Mitchell—it was clear that nan Jets’ beforehand agency was astir apt stifling screams connected nan different broadside of nan phone. The return for Gardner makes this a “no-brainer” arsenic 1 NFL root put it. Two first-round picks, particularly for a coach who professes nan expertise to make a defense activity pinch rotational scrap heap corners (although this seems to beryllium a much Lions-specific trait and not an Aaron Glenn–specific one astatine this point), was an connection that was simply excessively rich | to garbage for a squad that is woefully retired of contention and successful statement for nan No. 1 prime successful nan 2026 draft. 

The compensation gives nan Jets acold much than a dense beingness successful nan first information this twelvemonth and next. It gives them flexibility, which will yet mean nan quality betwixt securing a backmost for 2026 aliases missing retired altogether. While location is simply a fearfulness that Indianapolis’s picks successful some years will beryllium precocious successful nan first round, I do for illustration gambling connected nan 2027 first-round pick, which will beryllium highly limited connected nan fallout of this play and what Indianapolis decides to do pinch Daniel Jones (for example, signing Jones to a semipermanent statement tin complicate nan team’s expertise to spend different pieces captious for a year-over-year evolution). 

Speaking of nan rookie backmost market, here’s different logic this move was almost basal for nan Jets: There are 3 different teams that person aggregate first-round picks successful 2026. Of those three, nan Rams and Browns are evidently QB-needy. Before Thursday, it looked for illustration Cleveland whitethorn person nan champion unchangeable of picks to connection for nan No. 1 slot if interested, but this is each astir gathering equity astatine nan moment. The past point nan Jets want to do is extremity up successful 2nd aliases 3rd spot while successful request of a quarterback, conscionable for illustration they were successful nan Sam Darnold draught (pick No. 3) and nan Zach Wilson draught (pick No. 2). The Jets besides person a brace of 2027 first-round picks now, which tin evidently beryllium utilized arsenic levers successful nan upcoming draft. 

Comparing Gardner waste and acquisition to Micah Parsons deal

The mechanics of nan trade—two first-round picks from a playoff-bound squad positive a subordinate —now unit caller Jets GM Darren Mougey to beryllium juxtaposed against immoderate beautiful dubious competition: Cowboys proprietor Jerry Jones. Jones received 2 first-round picks and a subordinate from Green Bay for Micah Parsons. Moughey sewage a somewhat amended type of that waste and acquisition for Gardner, which is understandable fixed that Jones virtually sat connected his cellphone and butt-dialed nan Packers correct earlier nan play opener and Mougey played connected nan desperation of a corner-needy GM coming disconnected a revealing nonaccomplishment to Pittsburgh astatine nan waste and acquisition deadline. 

To me, nan woody illustrates some nan advantage of timing and nan steep value tag that teams will still salary for elite separator rushers and cornerbacks who tin routinely beryllium trusted to return connected top-quality No. 1 wide receivers.

Sauce Gardner, supra moreover Patrick Surtain II, travels pinch nan opposing team’s No. 1 wide receiver. This is nan Darrelle Revis Standard™ for top-flight cornerback play worthy surrendering existent draught equity for. And I deliberation I understand it from nan Colts’ perspective, which besides reveals conscionable really basal nan move was for a squad that is 7–2 and has heavy playoff aspirations.

Here’s really Indianapolis has fared against each team’s existent No. 1 to this constituent successful nan season: 

*Keenan Allen had a staggering 11 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown successful this game. 

What we spot connected that database is an amalgam of bully receivers connected bad offenses aliases pinch bad quarterbacks (Cardinals, Dolphins), teams without No. 1 wide receivers (Titans) and 1 team, nan Rams, pinch what you whitethorn see an unquestioned top-10 wide receiver successful nan NFL. 

Ahead connected nan Colts’ schedule? Drake London, Rashee Rice, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and perchance either Ricky Pearsall aliases Brandon Aiyuk. It’s going to get harder, and nan Colts perfectly took advantage of an opportunity to toggle shape arsenic a portion earlier nan deadline. Instead of uncovering an elite walk rusher, nan Colts sewage a area who will springiness their walk unreserved much clip to get home. 

If you look beyond nan regular season, this is arsenic soft and susceptible arsenic nan AFC has felt successful astir a decade. I suppose that’s arsenic bully a logic arsenic immoderate to onslaught if you’re nan No. 1 seed astatine nan deadline. 

Colts apt tied to Jones now

One past Colts note: I deliberation this almost surely marries Indianapolis to Jones for nan adjacent term. The Colts person nary draught elasticity now for a rookie quarterback, and pinch Darnold apt joined to nan Seahawks for nan adjacent word and Aaron Rodgers group for status aft this season, Indianapolis will beryllium successful a position acquainted to Giants fans who watched Jones get a near-top-of-market hold backmost successful 2023. Their options are that, aliases kidnapping Joe Flacco again. 

Jones will undoubtedly prehend connected this deficiency of philharmonic chairs conscionable for illustration he did pinch Joe Schoen and nan Giants, complicating a financial image for GM Chris Ballard beyond nan 2025 season. The marketplace for passers of that property and acquisition level—we tin telephone them nan “comeback crew” of Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith and Darnold—ranges betwixt $33 and $45 cardinal per year. That would mean, astatine nan very least, having Jones travel adjacent to tripling his salary from this season. 

On nan Jets, location are impacts some mechanical and emotional. The mechanical: As Spotrac noted, nan Jets’ restructure of Gardner’s statement yields beautiful insignificant dormant headdress hits ($8.75 cardinal this play and $11 cardinal adjacent season). When you facet successful really galore young, cost-controlled contracts will beryllium connected this roster, it’s not a deal that will remotely effect nan team’s operations complete nan adjacent fewer seasons. 

The emotional? I am, admittedly, a spot personally conflicted erstwhile reasoning astir this trade. I wrote a magazine screen communicative connected Gardner 2 seasons ago and, arsenic we walked astir his alma mater astatine nan University of Cincinnati, I retrieve a subordinate who was aggressively invested successful recreating a caller communicative astir this team. He said past caput coach Robert Saleh gave him nan greenish ray to enlistee and he took that occupation seriously, being 1 of nan loudest voices successful nan receptor of early Jets backmost Aaron Rodgers. 

While we tin each autumn into nan trap of getting basking and bothered astir a early to come, nan Jets person a destructive history of acquiring elite talent and watching those players win elsewhere. Darnold, Revis, Leonard Williams (Mekhi Becton if you want to beryllium a existent sadist astir it) and truthful on. When you adhd successful nan nearly-as-shocking news that Quinnen Williams was moved to nan Cowboys, you’re talking astir generations of Jets fandom that person been shipped distant for nan committedness of thing better. Gardner struck maine arsenic nan astir personally wished successful changing nan thought of what it meant to play for nan Jets. Sadly, he ne'er sewage that chance. 

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