Former general manager Chris Ballard gave the New York Jets too much in return for cornerback Sauce Gardner in a trade midway through the 2025 season. This isn't revisionist history. Even at the time, the Indianapolis Colts were seen as making an unwise move. Gardner's injuries haven't helped argue otherwise.
Gardner isn't a bad player, of course, but he plays a position that can only be as effective as the opposing offense wants it to be. Cornerbacks stand out when the ball is thrown their way, but their defense can still struggle because they aren't as able to be impactful on every play. Not like an edge rusher, for instance.
Just like in the second half of last season, the cornerback is dealing with a left calf injury. He missed four games after coming to Indy in 2025, and he is likely to miss Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings. He hasn't officially been ruled out yet, but he is considered week-to-week, and he didn't practice on Wednesday.
Indianapolis Colts trade for Sauce Gardner keeps looking worse
Indianapolis can't afford to have Gardner on the field if he isn't close to 100 percent against the Vikings because Minnesota's elite wide receiver, Justin Jefferson, would take advantage of that situation. But it is those types of games that are why Ballard would have wanted to add Gardner in the first place.
This means, of course, that the cornerback is set to miss a contest that is the very reason he is on the team. Gardner can't help getting hurt, but that heis only exposes what a bad trade it was to acquire him.
Indy gave the Jets two first-round draft picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for Sauce Gardner. One first-rounder might have been fine, but two is what a team should give for an edge rusher, a player who can be a force on every down.
Not having a first-round choice crippled Indianapolis's draft this year, especially as the team's first pick in 2026, linebacker CJ Allen, isn't having a positive impact so far. But not having one in 2027, when the Colts could be looking to take a quarterback, is even worse.
One option might be that the Indianapolis Colts could trade Gardner this year before the November 10 deadline, but no team is going to be as foolish as Chris Ballard, who had never made an in-season trade in his tenure, was in giving up so much. Indy might not even be able to get a first-rounder in return.
Good teams like the Seattle Seahawks have a need at cornerback, but they are extremely unlikely to offer anything higher than a second-round choice. That situation is made more likely by Gardner missing games last year because of a calf injury and missing games this season because of an injury to the same leg.
None of this is to say that Gardner doesn't care about playing well and being available for games. He clearly does care. After all, it was his mistake in how much the Jets were given in return for him; it was Chris Ballard's, but now he is no longer part of a seemingly lost organization.
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