The New York Jets invested heavily in Sauce Gardner, handing him a four-year, $120.4 million extension to anchor their secondary. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler ranked him as the fifth-best cornerback in the NFL entering 2025, but evaluators made it clear he’s a “polarizing” figure.
Some see top-five talent, while others believe his penalty issues and inconsistent play make him overrated. Last season, Gardner drew 10 flags, a sharp rise from his first two years combined.
Under new head coach Aaron Glenn, the hope is that Gardner can cut down on mistakes and become the shutdown presence the team envisioned when they drafted him.
But after Monday night’s 27-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Gardner voiced frustration with something beyond his control: the referees. Speaking with reporters, he suggested the Jets’ 0-4 record is influencing how games are called.
“I watch football all the time,” Gardner said, via ESPN’s Rich Cimini and The Score. “I feel like I get called for more stuff just based off us not winning. Winning teams get away with more.”
Gardner was flagged for pass interference for the second straight game, part of a night in which New York committed 13 penalties for 101 yards.
Gardner emphasized that the issue isn’t just with him personally but with the entire roster. “We don’t get the calls we should get, and we get the calls we probably shouldn’t,” he argued.
Glenn, meanwhile, admitted there were questionable whistles but kept the focus on accountability. “There’s a number of calls in that game I felt didn’t go our way,” Glenn said, “but I do know this: we had a good amount of penalties on our end that we have to clean up.”
The Jets’ secondary, once seen as their strength, is struggling. Gardner’s reputation as a physical corner means every hand-fight or bump is under a microscope.
Whether or not the officials are actually targeting the Jets, the optics of frequent flags have created frustration on both sides of the ball. For a team desperate to stop the bleeding, composure will matter just as much as scheme.
Adding to the misery is a historically bad stat. As noted by ESPN Research, the Jets are now just the fifth team in 90 years to start 0-4 without forcing a single turnover.
Glenn’s defense has coughed up the ball seven times while generating none of their own. That lack of disruption, paired with the avalanche of penalties, explains why the season has unraveled so quickly.
The Jets’ next matchup against the Dallas Cowboys looms as a must-win. For Gardner, that means proving he can play tight coverage without giving officials reasons to reach for their flags.
If he doesn’t, the “polarizing” label attached to his massive contract will only get louder.
