Let's set aside what happened for Sauce Gardner with the Indianapolis Colts last season, as far as his performance on the field. He was fine when he played, but the when is a problem. Moving forward, he has to be more available.
The risk if he doesn't is that general manager Chris Ballard's move to acquire the cornerback could look a lot like the one the Seattle Seahawks made when they received Jamal Adams in 2020.
Coincidentally, Seattle got Adams from the Jets just as Indy added Gardner from the Jets. Both Adams and Gardner played three full seasons in New York before being dealt, though Gardner played another half-season, too. Each remained mostly healthy during their Jets days as well. Adams missed only two games, and Gardner just three.
Sauce Gardner could be the new Jamal Adams for the Indianapolis Colts
The Colts' star cornerback missed more games with Indianapolis after Indy acquired him last season. He injured his calf and missed Weeks 14 through 16, and then was held out of Week 18.
Adams missed four games in his first year with his new team, too, though that was over a full season. The next year, he missed five. He missed 16 games in year three and eight in his fourth and final season in the Pacific Northwest. The Colts have to hope for better from Sauce Gardner.
The trades for each are also similar. In return for Adams and a fourth-round choice, the Seahawks gave the Jets two first-round selections, veteran safety Bradley McDougald, and a third-round choice.
To get Gardner, Ballard gave the Jets two first-round picks and young wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Mitchell had vastly underperformed in a year-plus with Indianapolis, but in eight games in New York, he had 24 catches for 301 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career (yes, he should have had one with Indy except he coughed up the ball at the goal line).
Obviously, because Adams failed with the Seahawks doesn't mean that Gardner will do the same with the Indianapolis Colts. While both players were All-Pros at one point in New York, Gardner is a better pure player at his position than Adams was at his. Gardner is a great coverage cornerback. Adams was an inside linebacker in a safety's body.
The bottom line is that Sauce Gardner has to not only be great this year and beyond to be worthy of the draft capital the Colts gave up to get him, but he has to be healthy for most games, too. Anything less and Indianapolis is looking at Jamal Adams 2.0.
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