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On Tuesday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport announced that Sauce Gardner agreed to a 4-year, $120.4 million contract.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced that the deal includes $85.653 million in guaranteed money.
So with $85.65 million guaranteed, Gardner is now the highest-paid cornerback in the league, topping Houston cornerback Derek Stingley, who got $85.595 million.
Gardner’s deal averages $30.1 million per season, so he topped Stingley’s $30 million per season.
Elite players at a certain position like to top the last high-water mark contract with their deal, so Gardner did that, even though it’s by a hair.
Is Gardner the best cornerback in football? Not sure, but now he’s paid like it.
When I say “not sure,” that isn’t a value judgment. I truly don’t know.
And I’ve never been into this ranking stuff. I will leave that to others.
He’s very good, but it’s hard to quantify if he is the best, and I’m not going to hang my hat on analytics sites that rank cornerbacks, based on film, because they don’t have access to the team playbooks. Hard to break down film without knowing the assignments.
With secondary play, certain receptions can look like they are the fault of one defensive back to the naked eye, but they are not.
So you have to be careful with this stuff.
Over the last couple of years, the Jets have had issues dealing with combo routes. For instance you might have “trips” on one side, and the three defenders have to decide who is taking who. Sometimes, there has been confusion dealing with this scenario, and somebody is open.
Let’s say Gardner was one of the three guys on that side, how the hell would I know who didn’t cover who they were supposed to, allowing somebody to spring open?
Also in zone concepts, when defenders are supposed to pass off receivers to somebody else when they reach a certain spot, and this transition doesn’t work well, leading to an open receiver, how could we know who messed that up?
I will give you an example of what I’m talking about. In the Jets’ loss to the Indianapolis Colts, where Anthony Richardson looked like Peyton Manning, in the fourth quarter, Richardson hit WR Alec Pierce deep right for a gain of 39. Pierce caught the pass between Gardner and safety Jalen Mills. I have no idea whose fault this was. Some would argue there was no reason for Gardner to pass off Pierce to Mills, but I have no idea, and I’m not going to go there.
There was a lot of that stuff going on the last couple of years, and it’s hard to know who to blame in a lot of these settings.
One thing that we know the 6-3 Gardner is great at, for sure, is covering big receivers. We saw that in the Jets’ loss to Seattle last year when matched with then Seahawk receiver DK Metcalf, who is also 6-3.
Late in the first half, Gardner had a PD down the right side on Metcalf to end a drive and force a punt.
In the third quarter, Gardner had a PD in the end zone on a pass to Metcalf.
This will come in handy for the Jets in Week 1, when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers, Metcalf’s new team.
Has Gardner earned the right to be the highest-paid cornerback in the league?
Yes, because a team believes in that concept and gave him that money. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
And there was perhaps a PR/marketing tinge to the Garrett Wilson/Gardner megadeals. Many fans wanted these deals done for two very popular players/cornerstones. Jets fans don’t have a ton to hang their hats on right now.
Look, Gardner is a tremendous talent and has done some really good things for the Jets the last three years, but he still has a lot to work on. Having a former elite cornerback, Aaron Glenn, is going to help him take his game to the next level. Also, having a terrific ballhawking CB in his day at his position coach, Dre Bley, will help.
July 16, 2025
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