The New York Jets shocked the NFL by going on a fire sale at the trade deadline on Tuesday. While the Jets were expected to be sellers at the deadline, nobody expected them to trade away two of their best players. New York started the fireworks by trading Sauce Gardner to Indianapolis for two first-round picks and Adonai Mitchell.
Next it was Quinnen Williams, who landed with the Cowboys in exchange for multiple picks and DT Mazi Smith.
The Jets are 1-7 on the season and QB Justin Fields has not impressed as a starter. So it makes sense that New York would look to add future draft capital.
Perhaps head coach Aaron Glenn found it hard to evaluate New York's superstar players because of the disastrous surroundings. Or perhaps New York's front office views very few players as untouchable.
Whatever the reason, the Jets went all in on the idea of rebuilding the roster for the future. Personally, I'm a big fan of that approach.
Below we will explore why the Jets' surprising fire sale at the trade deadline was a rousing success.
The value from the Sauce Gardner trade was too good for New York to pass up
The name of the game with the Sauce trade is value.
I won't lie and say that Sauce is more name than game because that simply isn't true. Gardner is still one of the best young cornerbacks in the NFL. He is capable of shadowing top wide receivers and erasing them from the game.
So while I understand why Jets fans are bummed to lose him, I can understand New York's rationale. In my view, it is perfectly reasonable to trade Sauce away for such a massive return.
The Jets netted two first-round picks from the Colts (2026 and 2027) and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for Gardner.
I think this deal looks even better after Gardner's production dipped over the last two seasons. Gardner started his career with 32 passes defensed and two interceptions from 2022-23. However, that fell to just 15 passes defensed and one interception from 2024 to now.
He may still be an elite player, but now is certainly the time to sell Gardner if you're the Jets.
Plus New York can still rely on Azareye'h Thomas, Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Brandon Stephens, and Qwan'tez Stiggers at cornerback.
It's not the same as having Sauce, but it is a serviceable unit.
New York may have fleeced Dallas with the Quinnen Williams trade
It may not be the Sauce return, but the Jets also got a great return for Quinnen.
New York received DT Mazi Smith, a 2026 second-round pick, and the better of Dallas' two 2027 first-round picks in exchange for Williams.
To start, I think getting Smith in return is great because it replaces Williams spot on the roster. But more importantly, getting their choice of Dallas' 2027 first-round picks is a huge part of this trade.
If either the Cowboys or Packers struggle next season, the Jets could have another premium pick in that draft. The worst-case scenario is they still get a pick, but lower in the first round.
That makes this trade a win-win situation for the Jets.
Williams is still a great player, but I feel confident that New York could find similar production from a different guy.
Remember, the last time that he had a double-digit sack season was in 2022. That is an eternity ago in NFL terms.
It will be interesting to see if Williams still has some elite production left in him during the next few years in Dallas.
Jets add draft capital was absolutely the right move in first year of rebuild
Both trades by themselves are defensible in isolation. But when paired together, the Jets look like geniuses for setting themselves up with a bright future.
New York now has a massive war chest of picks over the next two drafts. They have the following premium picks in the next two drafts:
- 2026 first-round pick
- 2026 first-round pick (Colts)
- 2026 second-round pick
- 2026 second-round pick (Cowboys)
- 2027 first-round pick
- 2027 first-round pick (Colts)
- 2027 first-round pick (better of Cowboys or Packers)
This creates some great opportunities for New York to completely rebuild the foundation of their organization over the next two years.
It also opens a new window for the team to compete in 2027 and beyond.
Draft picks aside, the Jets helped get their salary cap in healthy shape with these two trades. New York will have $94.4 million of cap space in 2026 and $209 million in 2027. That includes plenty of dead cap space from Aaron Rodgers, Sauce, Quinnen, and other Jets players.
Putting that all together, New York has the opportunity to rebuild the organization from the ground up. And they'll have more ammunition than any team in recent memory to do it.
I have to applaud New York for recognizing that they weren't going to compete right away.
To be clear, there's no guarantee that this upcoming rebuild will actually work for the Jets. But the process that New York followed with Tuesday's fire sale is as good as it gets.
Personally, I cannot wait to see what New York does with this tremendous opportunity.
