The Indianapolis Colts have fully bought into their Super Bowl LX aspirations ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline. Within days of their concerning loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Colts added star cornerback Sauce Gardner from the New York Jets in a stunning trade.
The 7-2 Colts have easily been one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 season, having fans split on whether they are “contenders” or “pretenders.” Their record has been difficult to deny, but their loss to the Steelers brought many doubters out of hibernation.
Regardless, the Colts are now fully in win-now mode, for better or worse. They had one major area to address at the deadline and did so by acquiring arguably the best cornerback in the league. Whether they commit to this team long-term in the offseason remains to be seen, but general manager Chris Ballard is at least sold on his current group in 2025.
Conversely, the trade all but puts the nail in the coffin of the Jets' 2025 campaign. New York collected its first win of the season in Week 8, but is still just 1-7 on the year and already looking at another lost season. Trading Gardner gets rid of one of the few positives the team had to hang its hat on.
Only time will tell how the trade really turned out, but the move has already sent shockwaves through the league. The initial returns only suggest the two teams will continue trending in opposite directions.
Colts grade for Sauce Gardner trade
Nobody predicted it in the preseason, but the Colts have been the most well-rounded team in the NFL halfway through the 2025 season. Fans were ready to riot when the team announced Daniel Jones would be its Week 1 starter, only to watch the former bust become the next former New York Giant to thrive in a new environment.
Jones turned the Colts into the most efficient offense in the league with the help of Jonathan Taylor, who is on track for a record-breaking career year. Indianapolis' defense, which had just as many questions in the preseason, has held up for the most part, but has had one glaring issue: defending the pass.
Through nine games, the Colts are allowing the fourth-fewest rushing yards per game and cede just 4.0 yards per carry. Yet, their injury-riddled secondary has been the clear Achilles heel, ranking 26th in passing yards allowed.
With Charvarius Ward on injured reserve, it was hard to see the defense turning itself around. There were a few players the Colts could have added at the trade deadline who would be an instant fix, and Sauce Gardner is one of them.
Ballard gave up two first-round picks to close the deal, which could affect the Colts in the future if their season falls apart down the stretch. But everybody has been waiting for them to come crashing down all year, which has forced many fans to accept that they just might be better than expected.
Indianapolis has had one major flaw so far, and just made the perfect move to address it. Ballard has to continue building the team for the trade to be a true success, but the Colts continue to impress.
Grade: A+
Jets grade for Sauce Gardner trade
The Jets were already in tank mode before the trade, and now they get a pair of additional first-round picks for their regime to build on over the next two years. That is where the good news ends.
Of all the players New York could have moved at the trade deadline, Sauce Gardner was last on that list. He was clearly the team's best player and one of the few difference makers on the roster.
To make the situation even more confusing, the Jets just gave Gardner a four-year, $120 million extension in the offseason. It is not as if he was going anywhere, giving the Colts very little risk in the blockbuster move.
Sure, the Jets now have two more first-rounders, but what are the odds that they land a Gardner-like player again? That just seems unlikely, and they would need lightning to strike twice for them to come out on top of the trade.
Owning the Colts' next two first-round picks would have looked good in the preseason. But with Gardner in Indianapolis, the Jets just gave them the final piece to round out a potential Super Bowl-winning offseason. Given how they have looked so far, those picks could both realistically be in the latter half of the first round.
In the best-case scenario, Darren Mougey lands a player on Gardner's level with one of the two picks acquired. In their worst-case scenario, the Jets land a pair of busts, and the trade goes down in one of the worst in team history. That further begs the question of why the move was made in the first place.
The Jets hired Aaron Glenn to build a defensive dynasty. Now they took away his best player and the cornerstone of New York's defense, which was their only hope of turning the season around.
Mougey has two chances to rectify this move, but the odds of that happening are slim to none. This trade is only going to get worse with time and easily mark the beginning of the end.
Grade: D-
