Jets' Sauce Gardner: I feel 'pretty good' about extension talks
New York Jets cornerback and two-time All-Pro Sauce Gardner is now extension-eligible. On that note, how have extension talks with the Jets fared this offseason?
"I feel pretty good about how the [extension] talks have been going," Gardner said on Thursday, according to The Athletic.
New York selected Gardner, who has been present for mandatory minicamp, with the No. 4 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Cincinnati, with the cornerback going on to be the 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year; he totaled two interceptions and an NFL-high 20 passes defended. Gardner was one of three first-round selections for the Jets in 2022, with wide receiver and No. 10 pick Garrett Wilson winning 2022 Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Linebacker Jermaine Johnson, who had 7.5 sacks and was a Pro Bowler in 2023 but saw his 2024 campaign end after two games due to a torn Achilles tendon, was the team's third 2022 first-round selection at pick No. 26. The Jets picked up the fifth-year options on Gardner, Wilson and Johnson in April.
Last season, Gardner totaled one interception, nine passes defended and 49 combined tackles in 15 games; he missed two games due to a hamstring injury. Gardner ranked 13th among cornerbacks with a 78.5 pass-rush grade, 34th with a 73.1 coverage grade, 47th with a 70.2 overall grade and 167th with a 53.6 run-defense grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
While the Jets are coming off a five-win season, their pass defense was one of the bright spots from an otherwise ugly 2024 campaign, as they surrendered just 192.6 passing yards per game, good for fourth in the NFL. They have a new head coach in former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator and former Jets Pro Bowl cornerback and first-round draft pick Aaron Glenn.
The Jets lost cornerback D.J. Reed to the Lions on a three-year, $48 million deal in free agency, which they countered by bringing in former Baltimore Ravens cornerback Brandon Stephens on a three-year, $36 million deal.
Sticking on the contractual front, Derek Stingley Jr. (three-year, $90 million deal with the Houston Texans, $30 million average annual salary) and Jaycee Horn (four-year, $100 million deal with the Carolina Panthers, $25 million average annual salary) became the new highest-paid NFL cornerbacks earlier this offseason. Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward still has the most combined money among cornerbacks with a five-year, $100.5 million deal, which he signed in the 2022 offseason.
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