AFC Notes: Sauce Gardner, Woody Johnson, Jerod Mayo, Jets, Patriots

Jets

Jets CB Sauce Gardner said he’s back to having fun and playing loose after trying to do too much early on in the season.

“My mental wasn’t all the way there for whatever reason. It just wasn’t there. That was it,” Gardner said, via NY Post. “I wasn’t having as much fun. I was out there playing like I’ve got to make every single play. I’ve got to make plays for other people. I was playing like I can’t make mistakes. The way that I am, I’m somebody who’s always smiling and happy. I play my best when I’m smiling and I’m happy, because I’m having fun and I’m always being positive. I wasn’t doing that at all.” 

Gardner said he deleted his X account after receiving negative criticism and quit worrying about making mistakes.

“Anytime I see something about me missing a tackle or something like that, I’m really staying up at night myself already no matter if somebody says something or not,” Gardner said. “That’s just how I am. I want to make every single play. You could say that you’re going to make mistakes, but that’s just not my thought process. If somebody gets the ball on me, I’ll be up at night for a while before I can go to sleep.”

The Jets firing of former GM Joe Douglas and HC Robert Saleh affected Gardner, he admitted.

“It definitely affected me. Like I said, they helped change my life,” Gardner said of Saleh and Douglas. “It also brought an added pressure. It got to the point where literally people felt like we have another head coach, we can’t make no mistakes. Everybody was just playing that way. That’s not good. When you have players that feel like I have to make this play and this play and this play, instead of let me just do my job because I believe in the man next to me to do his job, that’s a problem.” 

Jets

• According to the Athletic’s Dianna Russini, Zack Rosenblatt and Mike Silver, there are concerns about Jets and the Johnson family’s critique of players inside the locker room. In 2022, Jets QB Mike White, playing through broken ribs, had a bad game in a loss to the Seahawks. Threw his helmet in the locker room afterward and went to the showers, after which owner Woody Johnson reportedly commented “You should throw your helmet, you f—ing suck.” It got back to White and Johnson had to apologize. 
• According to the Athletic, the sons were overheard trashing players last year, and after the team’s first win after firing HC Robert Saleh this year, there was an awkward moment where Woody and Brick overstepped with handing out the game balls.
• Another example of Johnson’s hands-on approach with football operations came when the Jets traded QB Zach Wilson to the Broncos in a swap of picks. Johnson said to send pick No. 256 instead of pick No. 257 so they could hold onto the Mr. Irrelevant selection. 
• Regarding Johnson suggesting QB Aaron Rodgers be benched after Week 4, the spokesperson said Johnson was just, “being provocative. He made the statement in jest to see how it would be handled.”
• The year before, Johnson was the one who insisted Rodgers return to the team to practice for the final few weeks after the team was eliminated, per the Athletic, though it meant him taking up an active roster spot by being activated from injured reserve. 
• The report goes on to write Rodgers had a conversation with Johnson at the end of 2023 in support of OC Nathaniel Hackett that apparently “didn’t go over well” with the owner. Rodgers was part of the process of trying to recruit another senior offensive staff member this spring, but the team struck out. 
• The reported conversation Rodgers and Johnson had after the loss in London to the Vikings consisted of Rodgers asking Johnson to stay patient with the team at 2-3, according to the Athletic. Johnson fired Saleh the next day. 
• Before that, however, the Athletic reports Saleh had called Rodgers and told him he was demoting Hackett, which Rodgers disagreed with. Saleh told staff to make sure backup QB Tyrod Taylor was ready to play in case a disgruntled Rodgers decided to take some time to nurse injuries. Interim HC Jeff Ulbrich was able to calm the waters with Rodgers, who never supported the Saleh firing.
• Another note from the report is that Johnson insisted on being called “Mr. Ambassador” after returning from his time as the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. under the last Trump administration. One assistant coach commented: “I guess that’s what you’d call him. I’d never been around royalty before.”
• Trump did not reappoint Johnson for his second term, a decision the Athletic says caught the Jets owner off guard.
• Other issues people with the team had with how things were run, per the Athletic, included not replacing assistant GM Rex Hogan, Johnson bringing in consultants who have been nicknamed “The Bobs” from his investment group to review the team and make recommendations, and just a general poor culture: “There’s no nice way to say what we need to say, which is: Unless we drastically alter our culture and the way we do things from the top down, we have no chance. There’s not a comfortable environment where you can speak your mind and try to address things that could improve the situation. You have to tiptoe around it.”
• The team spokesperson also disputed that characterization by the current employee: “That’s just a false premise. (Johnson) really just seeks out and welcomes feedback and debate. We wouldn’t have been named one of the best places to work in New Jersey if people thought that way … there’s never been a complaint.”
• Ultimately the Jets are on track to start with a largely clean slate, with a new head coach, general manager, and likely a new quarterback in 2025. But the various people the Athletic talked to for the story were skeptical that much would change with the team: “They keep on doing the same thing over and over: they change the football people. The football people are not the issue. It’s, ‘Hey, I have brain cancer.’ And, ‘Well, just cut off your foot.’”

Patriots

The Patriots’ defense has taken a hit in the first year under HC Jerod Mayo and DC DeMarcus Covington after being a strong unit in recent history. Covington explained their struggles and why they haven’t had the success they are conditioned to this season.

“Yeah, I would say every year is different. Every defense is different. So that’s kind of how I look at it. Like I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Covington said, via Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald. “So for us, we’re just trying to do the best we can every week, us as a coaching staff, us as the players, and I think those guys are working hard and trying to do what we ask them to do.”

“So, I look at each year being different. So, like what you did last year, what we did previous years, every year is different. So that’s kind of how I look at it.”