Social media can be a great tool for information, but everyone knows nearly everything needs to be verified and then reviewed logically. On Tuesday, a social media clip went viral of Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner trying to cover New England Patriots wide receiver AJ Brown in a joint practice. Browns got the better of Gardner.
More specifically, Brown got the better of Gardner on one play in practice that would have resulted in likely no more than a 10-yard gain in a game. Colts fans might have been enraged because the post exposed several issues with how Indy is viewed versus how New England is viewed.
But before we get into that, just know that Gardner was clearly aware of the social media post and responded to it after the joint practice ended. The elite cornerback wrote, "All this from a 1on1? (laughing emoji) & a 8 yard sit route at that? (There's) a reason that's the only one y'all saw (sleeping and lock emoji)."
Indianapolis Colts' Sauce Gardner takes to social media to respond to ridiculous post about a play in practice
Yeah, exactly. He is correct, of course. Anyone tweeting about one player beating another in practice on a short route is simply trying to reach the realm of the ridiculous. It is a meaningless play in a meaningless joint practice that has no bearing on the outcome of a real game.
Since deleted by Gardner, but he is, of course, correct in his observation. pic.twitter.com/A8JTeiIwkg
— Lee Vowell (@LeeVowell) August 11, 2026
Importantly, assuming Gardner got the better of Brown during the practice, and one can safely assume he did at least once, why wasn't that tweeted too? The truth is that the Patriots play in a bigger market than Indianapolis, and the NFL world likes to focus its attention on bigger-market teams with players who stand out because of things they say or do away from the field.
It is a strange world. Sports makes it stranger.
The real shame is that, as he often does, Gardner deleted the tweet about the play. He should have kept it active. He didn't say anything untoward, and he only spoke the truth. People were making a big deal out of nothing, and had the joint practice been between the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals, for instance, no one would have noticed.
To be sure, AJ Brown is a fantastic wide receiver, and he will probably be good with the New England Patriots. Sauce Gardner, however, is also a fantastic player and will likely be terrific with the Colts. When they do face one another in a real game (neither is likely to play in Thursday's preseason game), each will probably get the better of the other at least once.
That is when plays like the social media post will matter. In practice, they don't. The positive is that the tweet will only serve to motivate Gardner to be in top form even more. Maybe that's a win for Indianapolis.
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