Jets’ Aaron Glenn Addresses What It Felt Like to Trade Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams

'It was a pretty intense day.'

Glenn said the Jets couldn't pass up the opportunities the trades presented. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, fans heard from coach Aaron Glenn for the first time following the Jets' bombshell moves at Tuesday's trade deadline, specifically Sauce Gardner to the Colts and Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys.

In his remarks to the media, Glenn opened up about the emotions surrounding the extremely busy afternoon, as well as the team's rationale for making some bold swaps.

"It was a pretty intense day," Glenn said. "Just getting calls from a lot of different teams. When the opportunity presents itself for us to be able to build this team, it's hard to pass it up. Listen, those two guys are great players, we all know that.

"The one constant in this league is change. And I've said that to all our players, not just today but throughout this season, that this is a fluid game, fellas. Players come and go. Coaches come and go, but the one thing that I do know: With change, there comes opportunity. And I think Sauce and Quinnen [are] gonna have a great opportunity with those teams."

Watch those comments below starting at 2:34:

To note, Jets GM Darren Mougey said somewhat similarly yesterday.

"You’re set on what these values are really worth in these players and what you might be willing to do to part ways with them,” Mougey told the media. “We got to today and had these offers that we just felt were too good for the team."

In addition to Colts wideout Adonai Mitchell and Cowboys defensive lineman Mazi Smith, the Jets acquired three first-round draft picks (one 2026, two 2027) and one second-round draft pick (2026) thanks to the swaps. So although they have now parted with some big-time franchise pieces, they have set themselves up pretty nicely for the future.

"We are moving forward," Glenn continued Wednesday. "We have a good amount of draft capital that we are looking forward to. And when that time comes we will handle that. But right now, again, we're focused on Cleveland [the Jets' Week 10 opponent]."

The bottom line here? Opportunity came knocking, and the Jets answered the door.

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