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.
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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.
New York it’s been real💚
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) November 4, 2025
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.
