ClutchPoints
The New York Jets were the biggest sellers at the NFL Trade Deadline, shipping out Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams. They sent Williams, with two years left on his contract, to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick and a second-round pick. But the mistake rookie general manager Darren Mougey made was trading away Gardner before a massive extension began.
Mougey came in alongside head coach Aaron Glenn after the Joe Douglas/Robert Saleh regime was fired during last season. After the draft, where the Jets picked up some solid starters, Mougey signed two big extensions. Garrett Wilson signed a four-year, $130 million deal that keeps him around through 2030. And Gardner signed a four-year, $120.3 million deal that ran through 2030 as well.
Now, just months after that deal was signed, Gardner is gone with draft picks, and second-year wide receiver AD Mitchell replacing him. Gardner is not having the elite season he had in his rookie year, but he has bounced back from an injury-riddled 2024 campaign.
The mistake is not sending this horrendous Jets roster into a rebuild. At 1-7, they clearly need new faces and new talent to buy into Aaron Glenn’s message. But signing Gardner to the extension and then trading him before that kicks in is dreadful roster management. If Gardner was willing to stay through what everyone knew would be a bad season, why trade a great player now?
The trade return is incredible, snagging two first-round picks and a wide receiver with potential. But the Jets have to hit on both of those picks to make this deal worth it. And even hitting on a pick may not lead to a player as good as Gardner. Something changed from July to November between the organization and Gardner. And fans are left wondering what that is.
Gardner was a fan favorite, a great cornerback, and should have been on the Jets for life. But instead, he is on the Colts as they look to make a Super Bowl run. New York, however, has not made the playoffs since 2011. They need a rebuild, which is understandable considering the horrendous brand of football they have played this year. That should have included a trade of running back Breece Hall.
The Jets drafted Wilson, Gardner, and Hall in the 2022 draft and got some great seasons out of each of them. Hall is having a great year now, with 759 yards and three total touchdowns. He, however, was not a first-round pick, so Hall will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Paying a running back on a massive deal is not the way to start a rebuild. That means the Jets could lose the running back for free.
There were no other running backs traded during the NFL Trade Deadline. That means the [Jets could have started a bidding war with RB-needy teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles...
