The Indianapolis Colts had been aggressively working the phones in recent weeks, seeking to acquire a difference-making defensive player leading up to the NFL trade deadline.
Mission accomplished.
Indianapolis executed a blockbuster deal to acquire two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets shortly before Tuesday's deadline.
While it came at a hefty cost -- the Jets received two first-round picks (2026, '27) and embattled Colts receiver Adonai Mitchell in the deal -- Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard said it was one the team couldn't pass on.
"He was a player that we scouted heavily coming out of college and there's a reason he was the fourth overall pick," Ballard said in a statement. "Sauce is a proven cornerback. His skill and competitive nature will elevate everyone's play on the defensive unit. We're thrilled he's a Colt."
The deal gives a New York team that is 1-7 and in last place in the AFC East a chance to build toward the future. And they weren't done, either, later sending three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith, sources told ESPN. New York now has three first-round picks in the 2027 NFL draft.
Gardner, meanwhile, gets a new start with a Colts team that holds the best record (7-2) in the AFC along with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
"New York it's been real," he said in a message posted on social media.
New York it's been real💚
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) November 4, 2025
Gardner missed Week 8 with a concussion, but first-year Jets coach Aaron Glenn said Monday that he was completing the protocol and was expected to return to practice this week. While no decision has been made about Gardner's availability, there is hope in Indianapolis that he can suit up for the team in Sunday's International Series game against the Atlanta Falcons in Berlin.
Gardner is expected to arrive in Indianapolis on Tuesday night with plans to practice Wednesday, according to a source.
The Colts are still without 2023 All-Pro cornerback Charvarius Ward, who is on injured reserve after multiple concussions but is expected to return soon. Ward was signed to a three-year contract in March for up to $60 million. The Colts also added safety Camryn Bynum at four years and $60 million this past offseason, dramatically making over their secondary.
With 2021 Pro Bowl selection Kenny Moore II still manning the slot and with the arrival of Gardner, the Colts could be deploying one of the best defensive backfields in the league.
The Jets' decision to deal Gardner came just months after the sides agreed to a record-setting, four-year, $120.4 million extension. That deal came just 24 hours after New York reached a long-term extension with wide receiver Garrett Wilson, seemingly locking up two franchise cornerstones long term.
Now, half of that equation is gone.
The Colts will be responsible for paying only a prorated portion of Gardner's $1.25 million base salary in 2025, though their financial commitment increases beginning in 2026.
Indianapolis had been among the more active teams in trade conversations in recent weeks. A source told ESPN that it approached multiple teams about trading for cornerbacks but were quickly rebuffed in each instance.
But Tuesday's move lands the team one of the best players to enter the league in recent years.
Gardner, the fourth pick in the 2022 draft, was the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, when he led the NFL with 20 passes defended that season. He is the only cornerback since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to be named first-team All-Pro in each of his first two seasons.
Last season, he had a career-low seven pass breakups and a career-high four defensive pass interference penalties.
Mitchell, a 2024 second-round selection, has been playing sparingly since fumbling a would-be touchdown last month. The second-round pick in 2024 has just nine catches for 152 yards this year.