Sauce Gardner on why he didn't hold out of Jets minicamp: 'I'm bought into this'

Antwan Staley, New York Daily News on Jun 12, 2025

Published in Football

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NEW YORK — T.J. Watt of the Steelers, Trey Hendrickson of the Bengals and Terry McLaurin of the Commanders are among the big-name players who held out of mandatory minicamp this spring in hopes of receiving a contract extension.

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is also eligible for a contract extension.

But unlike that trio, the two-time All-Pro did not consider missing Gang Green’s mandatory minicamp.

“Man, I just wanted to show my teammates and show the coaches how much I’m bought into this,” Gardner said. “I want to win, I want to be part of changing the organization.

“We got a new regime in AG [Aaron Glenn] and his coaching staff. And I feel like Mr. (Woody) Johnson did a great job of getting those types of guys to be here. And I feel like he did a good job of changing the culture.”

During his three seasons in the league, Gardner, 24, has been one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He has two first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections and was named the 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, which is why the Jets are in talks for an extension.

Gardner declined to say if he wants to be the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Currently, that title belongs to the Texans’ Derek Stingley Jr., who received a three-year, $90 million extension in March, which included $89 million in guaranteed money.

“I’m letting my team handle that,” Gardner said. “My main focus is being the best football player I can be.

“My team and the Jets have been talking and I feel pretty good about how the talks have been going.”

Gardner is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2024 season. In addition to the Jets finishing with a 5-12 record, Gardner’s play declined compared to his first two seasons.

When opposing quarterbacks targeted Gardner last season, they completed 56.9% of their passes and had an 86.9 passer rating, according to Pro Football Reference. Additionally, penalties and tackling were issues for him.

Gardner registered a missed tackle rate of 17.5%, according to Pro Football Focus, ranking him 80th out of 96 qualified cornerbacks. He also committed 11 penalties, compared to only five during his first two seasons.

“I felt like I played pretty smooth,” Gardner said about his performance last season. “After all of my years, I always think that there are things that I can be better on.

“You know, it’s never as bad as it as bad as people try to paint it to be. We’re talking about a social world, an online space where, you know, the negativity is what’s going to grab all the attention. So, you know, that’s just what that is.”

Because of his struggles last season, Gardner has been a target on social media. Fans have called him everything from “overrated” to a “holding merchant.” However, Gardner doesn’t have an extra chip on his shoulder because of all of his naysayers.

“It’s always been noise surrounding me,” Gardner said. “Each of my years that I played, I always been like the underdog. I went to Cincinnati, obviously, and everyone was saying, ‘He’s going to be an All-Pro,’ but they ain’t really believe that was going to happen until it happened.

“And then, they are quick to jump ship, so I’m really used to it. I always feel like I have something to prove each and every year. I felt like I had something to prove going into the league, after my first year, after my second year, and my third year.”

Gardner says he always believes there are aspects he can improve on. Among those are registering more interceptions. In 48 games, Gardner has three interceptions, but has been among the league leaders in pass defended during that time.

“That’s finishing as we talked about and he’s been working on that for us,” Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said about Gardner. “Taking more time with the jugs and getting extra catches in and understanding how to catch the ball away from your body, just like a receiver would do.

“I always say this, and I know there’s a lot of talk about him, but he’s only going to be as good as the guys around him, so it’s all about trying to make sure that we all, particularly on the back end, push in the same direction.”

Gardner also wants to become a more effective leader both inside and outside the Jets’ locker room. He wants to be the player his teammates come to for advice and lead by example.

Glenn has transformed the Jets from one of the more experienced teams in the league to one of the youngest this offseason, thanks to the roster turnover. But he has been impressed with how Gardner has conducted himself with the coaching staff and his teammates.

“Here’s what I want Sauce to do — when you do lead, let your influence do all the talking,” Glenn said. “Like, how do you operate in the huddle with the players, in the locker room. That speaks more than the rah, rah guy.

“He understands that because influence to me is what really leadership is about. How do you influence your teammates? How do you influence people around you, no matter what?

“I think he’s done a really good job with that.”