The Indianapolis Colts shocked many in the NFL world when they traded for New York Jets “stud” cornerback Sauce Gardner (including Sauce himself). I put “stud” in quotation marks because he really hasn’t been that good this year after signing a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension in July. Maybe he’s just not playing well or maybe he’s just been mired in the depression that comes from the reality of waking up everyday to the fact that you play for the Jets.
The Colts gave up two first-round picks for a guy who ranks 46th in the NFL in interceptions, 36th in passer rating allowed (102.5) and fifth in yards-per-reception (17.0), according to PFF. That’s a lot of draft capital, so they better hope this isn’t another Jamal Adams situation.
But, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says that the Sauce trade tells you something else about the Colts’ roster.
“It tells you that they think Daniel Jones is more just an answer for 2025,” Breer said this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
What does Sauce Gardner have to do with Daniel Jones’ future?
On the surface, the Colts making a big trade for a cornerback shouldn’t have anything to do with the quarterback situation. Ah, but it does.
Jones signed a one-year, $14 million contract this offseason to basically come in and make sure the entire season doesn’t go in the toilet if they find out that former first-round pick Anthony Richardson can’t play. And, unless we all see something different at some point, he can’t. He was hurt early in offseason camps, wasn’t very good in training camp, lost the starting job to Jones and then landed on IR after popping himself in the eye with a rubber band during pre-game warmups a few weeks ago.
In short, Richardson is absolutely not the future of this franchise. Unless something changes dramatically, he’s not the future of any franchise and you can probably put him in the Justin Fields bin.
What do the Indianapolis Colts do with Daniel Jones?
The Colts are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but outside of that they have been stellar this year. They are firmly atop the garbage AFC South at 7-2, holding a 1.5-game lead on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who could honestly go in either direction and I wouldn’t be surprised.
Jones is first in the NFL in passing yards with 2,404, sixth in average yards per completion (8.2) and third in yards per game (267.1), although he’s the only one of those three with nine games played.
The Colts can’t really let him walk at the end of the year, can they?
The Sauce trade says they won’t. As Breer pointed out, by giving up two first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, you hamstring yourself in terms of finding that quarterback of the future in the NFL Draft. It’s not that it can’t be done, but it’s a heck of a lot tougher when you don’t have a first-round selection again until 2028. The Sauce deal ties you to Jones if you’re going to open up the checkbook (and you will…and ask the New York Giants about that before you do it) and keep him in town.
So, if you’re a Colts fan, I hope you like Jones. He’s playing really well right now, but that doesn’t mean it will last into the next few years obviously. The size of his next contract will be heavily debated, much like the Brock Purdy deal out in San Francisco.
Regardless, Shane Steichen and Chris Ballard should keep their jobs another year and will likely hold them if and until Jones goes south.
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