Sauce Gardner Provides Progress Report On Extension Talks

The Jets exercised CB Sauce Gardner‘s fifth-year option for 2026 this offseason, giving them another year to work out a long-term extension.

Gardner answered a question about why he decided to show up to mandatory minicamp without a new deal, unlike what many others around the league have done.

“I just wanted to show my teammates, my coaches how much I want to win. I want to be part of change in the organization,” Wilson said, via Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic.

He also gave a brief positive update on how the negotiations are going.

“I feel pretty good about how the talks have been going,” he added.

Gardner, 24, was a three-year starter at Cincinnati. He was a Consensus All-American and AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. The Jets used the No. 4 overall pick on him in the 2022 draft. 

He signed a four-year, $33,450,799 contract that includes a $21,507,854 signing bonus. There is also a fifth-year option for the team to pick up in 2025.

In 2024, Gardner appeared in 15 games for the Jets and recorded 49 tackles, a sack, nine pass defenses, and one interception.