Breaking Down Jets’ Cornerback Depth Chart After Shocking Sauce Gardner Trade

Liam McKeone | Nov 4, 2025

Sauce Gardner was traded to the Colts on Tuesday. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline involved some serious fireworks, as the Jets traded away star cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts in exchange for two first-round picks.

It was a shocking blockbuster that nobody saw coming. New York is in rebuilding mode and needs those picks but Gardner was far and away the team’s most talented defensive player; more than that Gardner appears likely to rank among the league’s top cornerbacks for years to come. The fourth pick in the 2022 NFL draft, Gardner won the Defensive Rookie of the Year award and a first-team All-Pro selection upon joining the Jets. He followed that up with a great 2023 that earned another All-Pro nod. Last season proved to be a setback for the star corner but the franchise was unperturbed and handed him a massive $120 million extension over the offseason.

This year, Gardner has six passes defended in seven games. He’s also racked up 20 combined tackles.

Now Gardner is gone, off to Indianapolis. It leaves the Jets extremely thin at cornerback given this big-time trade marks the second transaction involving a cornerback in the last week for New York; the organization previously traded Michael Carter II to the Eagles in exchange for receiver John Metchie III.

Let’s break down the team’s cornerback depth chart in light of the Gardner blockbuster and the Jets’ overall activity at the trade deadline.

Jets’ cornerback depth chart after Sauce Gardner trade

As of writing, New York houses four corners on the active roster. It’s unclear which player will be considered the top option on the depth chart so the players are listed in alphabetical order.

NAME	NUMBER	COLLEGE
Jarvis Brownlee Jr.	29	Louisville
Brandon Stephens	21	SMU
Qwan’tez Stiggers	37	N/A
Azareye'h Thomas	23	Florida State

These will not be the only players on the depth chart for the remainder of the season, to be clear. The Jets seem all but certain to elevate a player from their practice squad to the active roster to shore up the position. At the very least a free agent signing seems likely. Most teams will carry at least four cornerbacks onto the gameday roster so New York will almost definitely need more bodies no matter where they come from. That could include some safeties rotating into the slot corner position to help compensate for the small number of true cornerbacks.

Jets cornerbacks on practice squad

Here are the potential in-house names the Jets could look to in order to give the CB position better depth. An asterisk indicates their listed position is “defensive back” rather than “cornerback,” according to the team website.

NAME	NUMBER	COLLEGE
Jordan Clark	33	Notre Dame
Nik Needham*	40	Texas-El Paso
JT Woods*	39	Baylor

Opportunities will arise for this group without Gardner in the fold. A massive change for the Jets.

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