Sauce Gardner says he feels no extra pressure to perform after the Indianapolis Colts traded their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to the New York Jets to acquire the star cornerback in November 2025.
"I'm the first-round pick - I'm the first-round pick two times," Gardner said this week ahead of the NFL Draft, per the Indianapolis Star's Nathan Brown. "We're gonna get our money. We're gonna do our thing on defense, especially, but the whole team is gonna do our thing. There's no pressure."
Gardner added: "We think about what we do have, and that's me. If I've gotta be the first-round pick the next two years, then I'm gonna work regardless. There's already a lot on my plate, me being me, but it ain't nothin' I can't handle, and I feel like we've got the guys to get where we wanna go, and bare minimum, that's getting to the playoffs."
Gardner quickly became one of the most productive cornerbacks in the NFL, winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award and earning first-team All-Pro recognition in 2022. The two-time Pro Bowler landed a four-year, $124.4-million contract extension in July 2025 before New York shipped him to Indianapolis at the trade deadline as the Jets opted to restructure their defensive core.
The Colts initially appeared poised to make the playoffs last season but went on a tailspin in the second half, dropping the final seven games of the campaign. The club also lost quarterback Daniel Jones to a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 14.
Gardner said he's healthy this year after a calf injury sidelined him for three contests while with the Colts. Despite his absence and Indianapolis missing the playoffs, the team's brass remains optimistic that Gardner will have the same game-changing impact they envisioned when they acquired him for a postseason run.
"Sauce has got a really bright future, and he's going to be a core piece for us here for a while," general manager Chris Ballard said in January, per ESPN's Stephen Holder.
Indianapolis enters the NFL draft holding seven selections, starting in the second round at No. 47 overall.
