Jets GM Makes First Statements After Shocking Sauce Gardner Trade

The Jets shockingly traded superstar cornerback Sauce Gardner on Tuesday...

Jul 23, 2025; Florham Park, NY, USA; New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) warms up during training camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images

The New York Jets shocked the entire NFL world at the trade deadline when they opted to trade their superstar cornerback, Sauce Gardner, to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for a haul of draft picks and a young wide receiver.

And the Jets did it with one goal in mind: winning.

“The goal is always to win,” Jets general manager Darren Mougey said after the Gardner trade, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “These coaches and players work too hard, every day, all day, with the goal of winning on Sunday. That never changes. That’s what the fans deserve. That’s what the players deserve. That’s what the coaches deserve… I understand the trade deadline and different moving parts — but the goal is always to win on Sunday, and that’s what we work to do all week. And that’s how it is.”

Jets made Sauce Gardner's contract "tradable"

Feb 25, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Jets general manager Darren Mougey speaks during the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A deal like this is especially shocking considering the fact that the Jets signed Gardner to a massive contract extension in the offseason. It was one of the first big moves that Mougey made as the team's general manager. A few months later, he trades the same player he signed to a contract extension.

“The process for doing that contract is a very detailed one,” Mougey said, via Rosenblatt. “We had a lot of discussion going through that contract process and some of the details we had in that contract because you never know how the future is going to unfold, and we always wanted to be in a position to potentially trade these contracts. (We) made that contract a tradeable contract in case that you get into a situation where the value is just too good to pass up. That happened to be the case here.”

In hindsight, the Gardner contract extension was a smart one. The fact that Mougey made sure he could still trade Gardner without being handicapped was a genius move. This allowed the Jets to get the most value from the star.

It's way too early to tell if this was a good or bad idea for the Jets. Gardner is likely going to have a lot of success with the Colts, but the Jets have multiple first round picks in the next two years to right the ship.

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