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Colts Hoping DT DeForest Buckner Returns This Season

November 22nd, 2025 at 1:21pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Colts are optimistic that defensive tackle DeForest Buckner can recover from his neck injury in time to play again this season, per FOX59’s Mike Chappell.

Buckner went down in Week 9 and landed on injured reserve shortly after. The exact nature of his injury was not disclosed, but neck issues are always cause for concern. He has been rehabbing at the team’s facility in Indianapolis with the goal of returning this season, though the team has not issued a timeline.

Buckner, 31, was having another strong year anchoring the Colts defense with 42 sacks, four sacks, and nine tackles in nine games. He has been exceptionally consistent over his decade in the NFL. In each of the last seven years, he has put up at least 6.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss. However, this is his second year in a row with a stint on injured reserve. He returned from an early absence in 2024 with per-game numbers that line up with the rest of his career. The Colts will be hoping for a similar result this year to give a late-season boost to their defense that could maintain their contender status heading into the postseason.

In the meantime, Neville Gallimore and Adetomiwa Adebawore will both fill Buckner’s snaps along the defensive line. It will be hard for either one to replicate his impact, but both have put in solid efforts. Gallimore has 2.5 sacks in 10 games after zero in 2024 and just four in the four years before that, and Adebawore stepped up with a career-high five tackles in Week 10.

However, having an interior disruptor of Buckner’s caliber could be crucial in the postseason. The Colts are well-positioned to qualify, but getting Buckner on the field might keep them from turning into a pumpkin in the first round.

Colts Activate CB Charvarius Ward From IR

November 22nd, 2025 at 11:36am CST by Connor Byrne

Indianapolis is getting a major defensive piece back ahead of a crucial Week 12 showdown with the Chiefs. The Colts announced that they have activated cornerback Charvarius Ward from IR.

After the Colts opened Ward’s practice window on Wednesday, he’ll play Sunday for the first time since he suffered a concussion in warmups in Week 6. It was the second concussion of the year for Ward, who has missed six of 10 games during the Colts’ 8-2 start.

Ward, 29, revealed earlier this week that he had doubts that he’d play again after his latest concussion (via James Boyd of The Athletic). However, Ward said he’s back to normal, no longer experiencing dizziness, and “ready” to return.

Ward, whom the Colts signed to a three-year, $60MM contract last March, has held his own over four starts this season. The former Chief and 49er has recorded 13 tackles and three passes defensed. Pro Football Focus rated him as the game’s second-best corner before he went on IR.

With Ward unavailable at the time, the Colts pulled off a stunning trade with the Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner on Nov. 4. He debuted with the Colts in a Week 10 win over the Falcons, leading their corners in snaps. Mekhi Blackmon acted as the Colts’ other starting boundary CB, but Ward will now slot into that spot to give the Colts an imposing duo as they come off their bye. Along with Gardner and Ward, the Colts boast an outstanding nickel corner in Kenny Moore.

While the Colts are staring at a tough remaining slate featuring matchups with several playoff contenders, having the Gardner-Ward-Moore corner trio in place should be a significant advantage. The AFC South-leading Colts will enter Sunday third in the conference, but their hope is that a shutdown secondary will help propel them to the No. 1 spot and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

With Ward returning, the Colts waived cornerback Cameron Mitchell on Saturday. The 24-year-old began the season with the Browns, but they waived him in late September. Mitchell caught on with the Colts’ practice squad and wound up appearing in four games before they cut him. He played 100 defensive snaps and picked up five tackles with Indianapolis.

Colts Designate CB Charvarius Ward, LB Jaylon Carlies For Return

November 19th, 2025 at 12:15pm CST by Connor Byrne

The AFC South-leading Colts are off to an 8-2 start and vying for the No. 1 seed in the conference. Their chances to secure the AFC’s top spot could increase if they welcome back corner Charvarius Ward and linebacker Jaylon Carlies in the coming weeks. The team announced that it has designated both players to return from IR.

The Colts will have 21 days to activate Ward and Carlies. Ward has been on the shelf with a concussion since Oct. 18, while Carlies hasn’t played at all this season as a result of an ankle injury. He landed on IR with a designation for return in August.

After spending three seasons in San Francisco, Ward joined the Colts on a three-year, $60MM contract last March. Two concussions have limited the former Pro Bowler to four games (all starts) this season, but he has thrived when healthy.

Pro Football Focus rated Ward as the league’s second-best cornerback at the time of his IR placement. The 29-year-old has recorded 13 tackles and three passes defensed this season.

Just under three weeks after they put Ward on IR, the Colts swung a blockbuster deal for Jets star corner Sauce Gardner at the Nov. 4 trade deadline. If Ward comes back this year, he will join Gardner and nickel corner Kenny Moore to comprise one of the league’s best trios on paper. Gardner led Colts CBs in snaps in his debut with the team in Week 10, a 31-25 win over the Falcons in Berlin. Mekhi Blackmon started opposite Gardner on the outside.

With the Colts coming off a bye, Ward could return as early as this Sunday for a highly anticipated matchup with the Chiefs – one of his former teams. Carlies may join him as a reinforcement.

A 2024 fifth-round pick from Missouri, where he played safety, Carlies started in six of 10 appearances and made 36 tackles as a rookie. Although Carlies missed seven games with a leg injury in 2024 and underwent offseason shoulder surgery, the Colts expected him to work as a full-time starter alongside Zaire Franklin this year. Carlies’ ankle issue has prevented him from factoring in, however.

Germaine Pratt, who signed with the Colts in October, has taken over as a starter next to Franklin. Even if Pratt continues to hold down that spot, Carlies’ comeback would give defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo another intriguing option.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/18/25

November 18th, 2025 at 9:27pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest practice squad moves around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: OL Andrew Steuber

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DL Fabien Lovett Sr.

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: WR John Rhys Plumlee
  • Released: S Jack Henderson

Seattle Seahawks

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: S Marcus Banks

Tennessee Titans

Reeves-Maybin, the current NFLPA president, spent most of his career with the Lions but was released this offseason. He worked out with the 49ers in October and now returns to the NFC North with the Bears.

Odum began his NFL career in Indianapolis and is now returning to the Colts after a three-year stint with the 49ers. He will likely provide depth on special teams when elevated from the practice squad.

Kpassagnon, meanwhile, will be looking for his third team this season. He signed in Chicago this offseason to reunite with Dennis Allen, the Bears’ defensive coordinator and Kpassagnon’s former coach in New Orleans. He played 89 snaps across five games in Chicago before he was released. He then signed with the Colts’ practice squad, but did not make any appearances in blue and white.

The Seahawks signed Jones to their practice squad, but he was released the following day in a health-related move, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson. Rice, the son of NFL legend Jerry Rice, will get to play for one of his father’s former teams. Jerry Rice played for the Seahawks during his last season in 2004.

Jets Sign DT Khalen Saunders

November 17th, 2025 at 4:47pm CST by Adam La Rose

4:47pm: Sanders has now officially signed with the Jets, per a team announcement. He will look to handle a larger workload in New York over the coming weeks than he did in Jacksonville.

2:07pm: Khalen Saunders was cut by the Jaguars last week. It appears as though the veteran defensive tackle will not have to wait long to line up his next gig.

Saunders is expected to sign with the Jets, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports. Shortly before Pelissero’s report, veteran insider Jordan Schultz noted a deal was likely to be struck in the near future. Per Schultz, the list of teams which have shown interest in Saunders includes the Jets but also the Ravens, Colts and Cardinals.

In August, Saunders was traded from the Saints to the Jaguars. That move ended his two-year run in New Orleans but it did not yield a notable workload upon arrival with his new team. The 29-year-old played just two games with Jacksonville before the team elected to move on.

Saunders is a vested veteran, but since the end of his Jaguars tenure came after the trade deadline he went on waivers. Upon clearing, the former third-rounder became free to sign with any team. Nothing is officially in place yet, but a Jets agreement would come as little surprise given their reported interest on this front.

New York’s defensive tackle group was shaken up at the deadline by the blockbuster Quinnen Williams trade. The Jets received Mazi Smith from the Cowboys as part of the swap, but the team could still look to made further additions down the stretch. Signing Saunders would provide New York with a veteran presence who could audition for an extended stay with the team through 2026.

On the other hand, Saunders was understandably seen as a candidate to join a contender for the closing stages of the campaign. The 2-8 Jets (along with the 3-7 Cardinals, for that matter) certainly fit that description to much less of an extent than teams likes the Colts and Ravens. It will be interesting to see if a deal is nevertheless struck between Saunders and the Jets in the near future.

New York entered Monday with nearly $19MM in cap space. As such, a low-cost Saunders pact will not be a challenge for the team as its roster moves continue in the second half of the season.

Colts More Open To Re-Signing Alec Pierce

November 15th, 2025 at 8:57am CST by Connor Byrne

Colts big-play wide receiver Alec Pierce is scheduled to reach free agency for the first time during the offseason. Pierce said back in July that he didn’t anticipate signing a contract extension with the Colts. A new deal hasn’t come together four months later, but it appears his chances of remaining in Indianapolis beyond this season have improved.

The Colts decided before the season that it wouldn’t be “financially prudent” to re-sign Pierce, according to Stephen Holder of ESPN. Things have changed during the team’s unexpected 8-2 start, however. Pierce has been more productive than ever, in part because he has succeeded in running a greater variety of routes. As a result, “the idea of him returning is now very real,” Holder writes.

The Colts held out hope that the presence of 2024 second-round pick Adonai Mitchell would help make up for a departed Pierce. That’s not going to happen, though, as the Colts sent Mitchell to the Jets in a blockbuster before the Nov. 4 deadline.

Packaging the disappointing Mitchell with a pair of first-round picks netted the Colts star cornerback Sauce Gardner. It so happens that Gardner is close friends with Pierce, a former Cincinnati Bearcats teammate.

Pierce entered the NFL with Gardner as a 2022 draft pick. The Colts used a second-rounder on Pierce, taking him 53rd overall. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder missed just two games in his first three years and averaged approximately 37 catches, 644 yards, and four touchdowns in those seasons. He easily set career highs in yards (824) and scores (seven) while working with quarterbacks Anthony Richardson and Joe Flacco in 2024. Pierce led the league with a whopping 22.3 yards per catch.

A year later, Pierce has established a rapport with new signal-caller Daniel Jones, who beat out Richardson for the job in the summer. Thanks in part to Pierce’s help, Jones has enjoyed a stunning resurgence. While Pierce has only caught one of Jones’ 15 TD passes, he’s once again atop the league in YPC (20.9). With 28 receptions and 585 yards through eight games, Pierce is on track for career highs in those categories. He has joined rookie tight end Tyler Warren, fellow wideouts Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, and MVP-contending running back Jonathan Taylor in giving Jones a highly productive group of pass catchers.

With Pierce heading for his first 1,000-yard season, the 25-year-old is trending toward a lucrative second contract. A deal worth upward of $20MM per year is a possibility, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. The Colts currently have around $48MM in spending room for 2026, per Over the Cap, but that’s without taking a new Jones pact into account.

Jones, a former Giants starter and Viking backup, is playing this season on a $14MM agreement. That’s a relative pittance compared to what Jones is likely to earn on his next accord. The Colts plan to make Jones a long-term offer, which figures to eat up a sizable chunk of cap space. A best-case scenario would include Pierce continuing to catch passes from Jones in a Colts uniform in 2026, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll make the finances work.

Colts Plan To Make Long-Term Offer To QB Daniel Jones

November 12th, 2025 at 10:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Daniel Jones is following the Baker Mayfield/Sam Darnold path as a former top-10 pick to bounce back after inconsistency with his first NFL team. The Colts have reaped the benefits of their one-year Jones addition, and buzz is building — particularly after the team’s blockbuster trade that stripped away top draft assets — this partnership will continue.

The Colts are planning to make Jones a long-term offer, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Although extension talks have not begun yet, CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones adds the quarterback “loves” Indianapolis and is pleased with his current situation. The seventh-year veteran chose the Colts over a better offer to remain with the Vikings, viewing this as the superior path to a starting role. He was proven correct, and the Colts are tied for the AFC’s best record — at 8-2 — in their bye week.

Seeing as the Colts dealt their 2026 and ’27 first-round picks for Sauce Gardner, it certainly seems like Jones’ bargaining position improved. Against all odds, Jones has found himself with leverage that could be comparable to where he stood with the Giants in 2023. While Jones negotiations have not yet started, discussions with the free agent-to-be should be expected soon.

Indianapolis both missed on its most recent first-round quarterback (Anthony Richardson) and has dealt away the top two assets to land another one. Although Jones did not come close to living up to his four-year, $160MM Giants accord, he asked for $47MM per year that offseason — a seminal period for that franchise. Jones’ positional value prompted GM Joe Schoen to prioritize him more than Saquon Barkley, talent disparity notwithstanding, and that led to a Barkley tag and 2024 free agency exit. The Giants’ decision to re-sign Jones backfired spectacularly, with Barkley joining the 2,000-yard club and driving the Eagles to a Super Bowl title — weeks after New York released Jones.

Jones was not believed to have created much distance from Richardson during their training camp competition, but he won the job and has certainly separated from the erratic top-five pick in-season. Jones ranks ninth in QBR, which represents a slip from where he was a few weeks ago but obviously a surprising placement given his standing throughout his second Giants contract and into free agency. Jones is playing out a one-year, $14MM contract; he is positioned to do much better in 2026.

The Colts appear “all in” on a long-term partnership with Jones, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes, citing Mayfield and Darnold’s deals as comps. Mayfield and Darnold signed near-identical contracts a year apart, and both have justified the payments.

Mayfield is on a three-year, $100MM deal that included $40MM at signing; Darnold is at three years, $100.5MM ($37.5MM at signing). Darnold’s hot Seattle start has left little to no suspense about him collecting an additional $17.5MM guaranteed in February. Jones’ shaky Giants tenure will logically give teams pause, but Fowler points to the QB being able to set his price point beyond where Mayfield and Darnold took the mid-tier QB market.

Jones, who used his dual-threat ability to pilot the Colts to a game-tying drive in the final second of their win in Berlin, leads the NFL in passing yards — with 2,659 and sits fourth in yards per attempt (8.3). Both numbers are out of step with the former No. 6 overall pick’s Giants work, which never featured a season north of 7.0 yards per pass or a yardage total beyond 3,300. Jones is on pace to blow past that yardage mark, and while the ex-Eli Manning successor did guide the Colts to wins over the Broncos and Chargers, tough tests against the Chiefs, Seahawks and 49ers remain. Two matchups against a formidable Texans defense are on Indy’s docket as well.

When the Colts traded Gardner, some around the league viewed it as a pledge they will re-sign Jones, ESPN’s Dan Graziano notes. We heard before the Gardner trade the Colts were interested in a post-2025 Jones relationship. Considering Jones’ struggles justifying his $40MM-AAV Giants accord and his health issues in the past, the Colts diving back in on a franchise-level contract for this particular player would appear risky. But this franchise has been starved for stability at the position post-Andrew Luck. By starting Jones over Richardson this year, the Colts joined only Washington (2017-24) by using an eighth Week 1 QB1 in nine-season span. Jones has also given Indy’s homegrown core a return to relevance.

Controlling owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon signed off on Chris Ballard‘s Gardner swap, encouraging her GM to secure a long-term fix for the team’s boundary cornerback issue rather than a stopgap solution. The Colts failed with QB stopgaps in Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan, and even though their hopeful long-term fix in Richardson appears a failure in progress, the team’s Gardner play points to Jones being given another lucrative contract.

Jones playing hardball with the Giants in 2023 provides a sign where his Indy negotiations could go, and that will be an interesting storyline to follow as free agency nears. But he and MVP candidate Jonathan Taylor have the Colts in first place in scoring this season. It is possible Ballard has made a determination on his quarterback, and Jones’ resurgence is on track to save the GM and HC Shane Steichen‘s jobs.

Even though the Colts have hurdles to clear as they pursue their first playoff bye since 2009, the team is on track for its first AFC South title since 2014. A reward payment for Jones appears to be expected in the not-too-distant future. The Colts have until the mid-March legal tampering period to negotiate exclusively with Jones, whose Giants deal came days before the 2023 legal tampering period.

Giants GM Joe Schoen To Lead HC Search

November 10th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Connor Byrne

Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll joined the organization together in 2022, but they’re not leaving as a package deal. After Daboll steered the Giants to a 20-40-1 record, including a 2-8 start this year, they fired him on Monday. Owners John Mara and Steve Tisch agreed it was time to move on from Daboll during a phone conversation on Monday morning, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports.

Mara and Tisch made the decision to choose offensive coordinator Mike Kafka as the Giants’ interim head coach, according to Schwartz. The team later announced that Schoen is staying on to lead the search for a full-time successor to Daboll.

“We feel like Joe has assembled a good young nucleus of talent, and we look forward to its development,” said Mara. Unfortunately, the results over the past three years have not been what any of us want. We take full responsibility for those results and look forward to the kind of success our fans expect.”

The Giants’ official statement will be the last time they address the Daboll firing for now, Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports. They’re not planning to make ownership or Schoen available for interviews this week.

This isn’t the ending the Giants envisioned when the Schoen/Daboll reign began in promising fashion in 2022. The Giants went 9-7-1 and won a wild-card playoff game over the Vikings before losing to the Eagles in the divisional round. Daboll earned Coach of the Year honors.

New York has posted horrid results over the past two-plus years, but Mara and Tisch continue to hold Schoen in high regard, per Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports. Giants ownership is of the belief that Schoen has been a significant upgrade over predecessor Dave Gettleman, who was at the helm from 2018-21. The Giants stumbled to a 19-46 mark under Gettleman and failed to earn a playoff berth.

Although the team Schoen has assembled will miss the playoffs for the third year in a row, the Giants have enough talent to make their head coaching job a “coveted” opening, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says. A new head coach stands to inherit first-round quarterback Jaxson Dart, No. 1 wide receiver Malik Nabers, co-NFL sacks leader Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Dexter Lawrence, among other enticing pieces.

While it could be a couple of months before the Giants name their next head coach, Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, former Raiders HC Antonio Pierce, and Colts DC Lou Anarumo are among names to watch, Rapoport relays.

Spagnuolo has won four Super Bowls as a coordinator, including one with the Giants under Tom Coughlin, but he finished an ugly 10-38 as the St. Louis Rams’ head coach from 2009-11. Spagnuolo then went 1-3 as the Giants’ interim head coach in 2017, briefly taking over after the firing of Ben McAdoo.

Pierce had a great run as a Giants linebacker from 2005-09, winning a title as part of a Spagnuolo-coached defense. Like Spagnuolo, though, Pierce’s initial experience as an NFL head coach didn’t go well. The Raiders dismissed Pierce last January after going 9-17 under him in parts of two seasons.

Anarumo is a Staten Island native who worked as the Giants’ defensive backs coach in 2018. His son currently serves as a pro scout in the organization, Vacchiano notes. Anarumo, then the Bengals’ D-coordinator, interviewed for the Giants’ head coaching job before it went to Daboll. The longtime assistant “left a strong impression” during that meeting, sources told Vacchiano. With Anarumo an important part of the Colts’ unexpected turnaround this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Giants or other teams in the market for a head coach speak with him in the coming months.

Browns Planned Adonai Mitchell Move Before Jets-Colts Trade

November 9th, 2025 at 10:51pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Even if the Jets hadn’t insisted on getting Adonai Mitchell in the Sauce Gardner deal, the second-year wideout was likely headed out of Indianapolis at the trade deadline.

Multiple teams were interested in Mitchell, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Among them were the Browns, who were planning to send a late-round pick to the Colts in exchange for the 23-year-old receiver

However, the Jets’ desire to acquire Mitchell – and the Colts’ to acquire Gardner – made it impossible for the 2024 second-round pick to land in Cleveland. There, he could have stepped into a WR2 role right away. Of the Browns’ top six pass-catchers in terms of receptions, only one – Jerry Jeudy – is a receiver. After career-best numbers in 2024, his 22-257-0 line this season is even more disappointing considering his 54 targets. No other Browns wideout has more than 11 catches or 125 yards on the year.

That would have given Mitchell ample opportunity for more targets after averaging only two per game to start the season in Indianapolis. He should still see increased usage with in New York, as the Jets badly need a second receiver behind Garrett Wilson. He racked up 56 targets in the Jets’ first six games, and even after missing two games with a knee injury, he still has almost one-fourth of the team’s target share. Wilson hurt the same knee in Sunday’s win over the Browns, according to head coach Aaron Glenn, which could sideline him for a few more games. Mitchell should have a chance to step up in his absence, and even when his star teammate returns, there should still be plenty of targets to go around. The Jets’ other primary pass-catcher is rookie tight end Mason Taylor, who has 29 catches for 242 yards. Beyond that, the team’s next-most productive receivers are Tyler Johnson (10 catches for 187 yards) and Josh Reynolds (11 catches for 101 yards).

A glance at the Jets’ cap table shows even more opportunity for Mitchell in the future. The only receivers under contract beyond this year are Wilson, second-year UDFA Isaiah Williams, and fourth-round rookie Arian Smith. Williams has just three catches for 31 yards this year, while Smith has just six for 47.

It might take Mitchell a while to get acclimated to a new scheme midseason, but a full offseason in New York won’t just help him fit into the offense. It will help his new coaching staff figure out the best ways to use him. Whether the Jets stick with Justin Fields or use their new draft capital to add a coveted veteran or rookie quarterback, they will want a better support system than what was in place for the franchise’s past signal-callers. That includes a young, athletic wideout like Mitchell who has plenty of potential and may now have the chance to show it.

Latest On Sauce Gardner Trade; Jets HC Aaron Glenn’s Job Is Safe

November 9th, 2025 at 12:22pm CST by Rory Parks

The Jets’ deadline trade sending cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Colts in exchange for a 2026 first-rounder, a 2027 first-rounder, and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell caught many by surprise. However, the foundation for those types of deals is typically laid well in advance of the agreement itself. That is exactly what happened here, as multiple reporters, including Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic (subscription required), detail that the framework of the Gardner deal – and the other swaps New York made – began to take shape in Week 4.

At that time, GM Darren Mougey and his staff began to hold weekly meetings to discuss, among other things, the trade value of each player on the roster. The idea was to avoid recency bias as the November 4 deadline approached and other clubs began making trade offers.

So, although ESPN’s Rich Cimini says the Jets never intended to move Gardner – whom they signed to a four-year, $120.4MM contract extension in July – they did establish what it would take to consider trading him if an offer came in. Per Cimini and Albert Breer of SI.com, that price was indeed two first-rounders and a quality player.

After the Colts’ Week 6 victory over the Cardinals improved their record to 5-1, Breer says Indianapolis’ assistant GM, Ed Dodds, placed calls around the league seeking CB help (Charvarius Ward suffered a concussion prior to the Arizona contest and landed on injured reserve as a result, and rookie Justin Walley sustained a season-ending ACL tear in August). Dodds’ efforts led him to Mougey, who indicated he would listen to offers on anyone on the roster, even if he was not actively looking to trade certain players.

Mougey and Colts GM Chris Ballard then discussed the possibility of a Gardner trade. While Cimini says Ballard initially balked at the asking price, Mougey himself noted Indianapolis’ offers “kept getting richer and richer.” The Colts inquired on the Giants’ Deonte Banks (per Cimini) and the Saints’ Alontae Taylor (as previously reported), but Gardner is on an entirely different tier. 

As Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon put it during a conversation with Ballard on the eve of the deadline, “[d]o you want to Band-Aid [the cornerback position] or fix it for the long-term?” (via Breer). When Ballard explained how valuable Gardner could be, particularly considering the importance of CBs in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s scheme, Irsay-Gordon agreed the long-term fix was the right choice.

According to Cimini, the Jets were emphatic about including Mitchell in the trade. Breer adds Indianapolis grew increasingly amenable to moving the 2024 second-rounder, who had become an afterthought in the team’s offense. With the Jets high on Mitchell and the Colts prepared to move on, all of the pieces for the Gardner trade were in place.

Of course, Gardner was not the only elite defender Mougey jettisoned at the deadline. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was sent to the Cowboys in a swap that netted the Jets DT Mazi Smith, a 2026 second-rounder, and the higher of Dallas’ two 2027 first-rounders. Per Breer, Mougey knew the Cowboys would not give back everything they had gotten in the offseason Micah Parsons trade, which is one of the reasons why the GM began to consider a first-rounder in 2027 instead of 2026. The other reason is that he and his staff believe the ‘27 draft class offers more promise than the ‘26 crop. Now, thanks to the Gardner and Williams deals, the Jets have three first-round selections (including their own) in a year they consider to be rife with quality prospects.

Both Brian Costello of the New York Post and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network write that head coach Aaron Glenn was heavily involved in the trade discussions, which bolsters Rapoport’s report that Glenn will not be a one-and-done coach. Owner Woody Johnson recently called Glenn “the real deal,” and sources tell Rapoport that Glenn will not be judged by the Jets’ 2025 record and will be given a chance to guide the club through its rebuild.

Johnson has a history of being something of a meddlesome owner, but Cimini suggests that was not the case at this year’s deadline. Instead, when his first-year GM and HC told him of the plan to trade Gardner mere months after authorizing a lucrative extension for him, Johnson simply reaffirmed his faith in his top power brokers.

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