In acquiring cornerback Sauce Gardner from the Jets, the AFC South-leading Colts made the most stunning splash of deadline day on Tuesday. It was also the costliest move of the day, as Colts general manager Chris Ballard boldly surrendered two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell to land the two-time first-team All-Pro.
At 7-2, Indianapolis is tied for the NFL’s best record, but the team went into the deadline with another obvious need at edge rusher. The Colts didn’t end up addressing that area, however, and Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star writes that a lack of available impact edge players made it easier for the team to put all of its chips in on Gardner.
The Colts reportedly had pre-deadline interest in the Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson, one of the game’s preeminent pass rushers, but he stayed put. The highest-upside rusher to move before the deadline was Jaelan Phillips, who went from the Dolphins to the Eagles for a third-round pick. While Phillips may have helped the Colts’ defense, he likely wouldn’t have transformed the unit the way Gardner could, Erickson observes.
Indianapolis, which ranks sixth in the league in sacks, will go forward with a pass rush led by rising second-year man Laiatu Latu, DeForest Buckner, and Kwity Paye. The hope is the addition of Gardner will take pressure off the entire defense, and the eventual return of another starting cornerback in Charvarius Ward should further help the Colts’ cause. If things go according to plan and those two limit space for receivers at the line of scrimmage, it should lead to fewer quick throws and more success for the Colts’ pass rushers.
Pro Football Focus ranked Ward as the league’s second-best corner before he went on IR with a concussion on Oct. 18. Players on IR are required to miss a minimum of four games. Ward has sat out three, meaning he won’t face the Falcons in Berlin this Sunday. With the Colts on a bye after that, Ward could return to team up with Gardner against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Week 12.
So instead of the Jets offering them Jermaine Johnson, an edge rusher thats definitely leaving the moment the years up, they said “no fr you can have our lockdown corner and we will just hang on to our rentals who are all going to get as far away from here as possible and get nothing for them its chill”
Johnson is under contract for another year.
And Sauce hasn’t locked anything down in two years except the 💰
The only true lock down corner IMO currently playing is Surtain.