It's crazy how much things can change in a year in the National Football League. At the same time last season, the Indianapolis Colts were 7-2 and looked like a legitimate threat to go the distance in the AFC. Fast forward to today, and they're 2-7 and drifting.
The Colts gave up two first-round picks and Adonai Mitchell to get New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner. While the price drew criticism at the time, it was the type of all-in move a team with Super Bowl aspirations usually makes.
Now, a bit over 365 days later, and just days before the November 10 trade deadline, Colts CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon might be having second thoughts. Gardner has either been underwhelming or unavailable, and he may have cost the Colts a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9.
The Indianapolis Colts probably want a do-over on the Sauce Gardner trade
Gardner arrived in Indianapolis with a reputation as a shutdown cornerback. He lived up to that rap in his four games in 2025, holding passers to a 52.9 completion rate for 77 yards and no touchdowns. He hasn't been much worse this season, but he's been on the wrong end of some big plays.
That includes a 46-yard bomb to Ryan Flournoy that set up the game-winning touchdown for the Cowboys. All in all, he gave up three catches on five targets for 57 yards and two first downs. Again, it's not so much about the numbers as it is about the context.
All cornerbacks get beaten and exposed at times, but the Colts gave up way too much and jeopardized their future to get him. They have gotten virtually nothing in return since, and they've gone 3-13 since trading for him.
Granted, blaming him for the losing record or for everything that has gone wrong would be unfair and inaccurate, but it's just impossible to ignore the elephant in the room. If he had been any good, fans would probably still feel okay with the trade, even if they weren't winning.
Instead, they watched the team be without a first-round pick in 2026, and they'll have to sit through the same in the promising 2027 class. They don't even know who'll be making those picks, since that trade, plus re-signing Daniel Jones, may have finally been the straw that broke the camel's back with Chris Ballard.
If anything, costing Ballard his job might be the only reason Colts fans might ultimately feel good about this trade, but it's still too soon to feel this way. It was the most shocking and one of the biggest moves of the 2025 trade deadline, and so far, the Colts have absolutely nothing to show for it.
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