NFL Trade Deadline Blockbuster: Jets Send Sauce Gardner To Colts For A Haul

Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner and Qunnen Williams are making their escape from New York.

Mere hours before the NFL's 4 p.m. trade deadline, Gardner is leaving a team floundering in last place in their division for an Indianapolis Colts team atop theirs. And Williams is leaving to go to the Dallas Cowboys. 

In what can be considered an actual blockbuster day for the Jets, they are collecting as many as three first-round draft picks for the coming two drafts to go along with their own two first-round picks.

The Jets are getting two first-round picks from the Colts, one in the 2026 draft, the other in the 2027 draft, plus wide receiver Adonai Mitchell in exchange for Gardner. And they're getting a second-round pick in 2026, a first-round pick in 2027 and defensive tackle Mazi Smith from the Cowboys for Williams, their defensive tackle.

Both the Jets and Colts announce the Gardner move. The Cowboys-Jets trade that followed has yet to be officially announced.

Oct 19, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) looks on from the sidelines during the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Colts Chasing A Championship

And this means stuff: We mean, beyond the fact Gardner and Williams are escaping New York before it potentially elects a communist as mayor.

For starters, it means the Colts aren't messing around. They're going for it!

They are tied with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos for the best record in the NFL at 7-2.

And this move shows they are convinced their time to chase a Super Bowl title is now. This year.

Indianapolis Colts QB Daniel Jones throws a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Photo Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images)

Colts Unmoved By Jones Setback

And Sunday's significant setback against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in which quarterback Daniel Jones looked like Giants-era Daniel Jones, is not affecting their decisions.

Jones threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles in a loss to the Steelers, by the way.

As for the Jets, well, their 2025 season ended pretty much in October when coach Aaron Glenn realized he had a quarterback problem and benched Justin Fields. And then owner Woody Johnson threw Fields under the bus, and the team continued to be among the league's worst with a 1-7 record.

(The Saints and Titans at 1-8 are both worst at the moment).

The intriguing thing is the Jets painted Gardner as one of their cornerstone players for the future.

(Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images)

Gardner 'Can Do It All'

He just turned 25 and only three-and-a-half months ago – in July – the Jets signed Gardner to a four-year extension worth $120.4 million in new money with $40.5 million fully guaranteed at signing and $84.65 million in total guarantees. 

Gardner received a $13.75 million signing bonus and has a $20 million option bonus in 2026 and $10 million option bonus in 2027.

The deal made Gardner the NFL's highest-paid cornerback on a $30.1 million annual average basis.

"He can be the best in the league," Glenn said of Gardner at the time. "He has the size, he has all the traits that you want: he’s big, he has long arms, he can run. He has the ability to deny the ball. He can play zone, he can play man, he can do it all."

So, yeah, buyer's remorse in New York.

Or the Jets simply realized they are nowhere close to being good and by the time they turn things around, Gardner might be out of contract. Or they figured they're going to be better off getting two good players by 2027 rather than having one good one now that isn't really moving the needle on wins.

New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams sent a tweet crushing the team's offense. He later deleted it. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Williams Expected To Upgrade Cowboys D

Same thing with Williams, except this one makes more sense. 

When the Jets selected Williams with the third overall pick of the 2019 draft, they believed they were landing the next great interior disruptor – a player capable of redefining the defensive line much as Aaron Donald had in Los Angeles. 

Six seasons later, Williams has been solid, evolving into the heartbeat of the Jets' defensive line. But he's not a game-changer.

Indeed, Williams is not even the best interior defensive lineman in the Big Apple. That would be Dexter Lawrence of the Giants.

This year Williams has 32 tackles, three forced fumbles and one sack for the Jets. But, like Gardner, it hasn't moved the needle for New York in the standings.

Seahawks Get A Deep Threat 

There have been other moves before the trade deadline.

The Saints sent receiver and returner Rashid Shaheen to the Seattle Seahawks for a fourth- and fifth-round pick. 

The Saints are obviously in dire straits with a 1-8 record.

The Seahawks similarly believe they're a Super Bowl contender in a year there are no real super teams and they felt Shaheen gives them a deep threat.

The Bears are trading for pass rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka from the Browns. Chicago lost DE Dayo Odeyingbo to a season-ending Achilles rupture on Sunday. So they are sending a seventh-round pick for Tryon-Shoyinka.

And receiver Jakobi Meyers, who had asked to be traded after the Raiders declined to give him a new contract in the offseason, is going to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fourth- and a sixth-round pick.

The Steelers also had interest in acquiring Meyers.