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Sauce Gardner

Jets To Explore Extensions For CB Sauce Gardner, WR Garrett Wilson, OL Alijah Vera-Tucker After Draft

April 6th, 2025 at 10:56am CST by Rory Parks

Two members of the Jets’ young core, foundational talents Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, are extension-eligible for the first time. While new deals for the club’s top two selections of the 2022 draft are not imminent, Connor Hughes of SNY.tv expects negotiations to commence at some point after this month’s draft.

Hughes had previously reported that the Gardner talks are likely to be straightforward. Despite a bit of a regression in his third professional season, there is seemingly no concern over Gardner’s ability to regain the elite form he displayed in his first two campaigns. As such, he is going to reset the cornerback market, which is currently paced by Derek Stingley’s new deal with the Texans that features a $30MM AAV and roughly $48MM in full guarantees.

Coming to terms on a price point for Wilson could prove more difficult. Wilson has had to make do with poor to mediocre quarterback play since entering the league, so even though he has managed to record over 1,000 receiving yards in each of his three NFL seasons, he is not viewed as a player who will top the exploding WR market. Hughes spoke with a few league sources who predicted the Ohio State product would land an AAV between $25MM-$30MM whenever he puts pen to paper. 

As of the time of this writing, that would put Wilson somewhere between the 7th- and 12th-highest-paid earner at the receiver position. Tyreek Hill and Brandon Aiyuk earn $30MM per year (with Amon-Ra St. Brown barely above that threshold), while DeVonta Smith earns $25MM per year.

Sometimes forgotten in the extension rumors is offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker, a 2021 first-rounder who is entering the fifth-year option season of his rookie deal and is presently on track for free agency in 2026. ESPN’s Rich Cimini says new GM Darren Mougey will also examine Vera-Tucker’s contract situation after the upcoming draft.

AVT missed significant time due to injury in 2022 and 2023 but rebounded to play 15 games last season. When he has been on the field, he has been a quality blocker and has seen action and both tackle spots and both guard spots.

That said, he only covered LT and RT as a result of injuries to other players, and last year, he lined up exclusively at RG. It sounds like he will stay there for the long haul, as Mougey says he views Vera-Tucker as a guard (via Hughes). So even though the club currently has a glaring need at right tackle, Mougey will need to address that need in some other way.

Running back Breece Hall is unlikely to be the subject of offseason extension talks, as was reported previously. The contract-year back has yet to regain the level of explosiveness he displayed in his injury-shortened rookie year, and new head coach Aaron Glenn wants to utilize an RB-by-committee approach that features Hall, Braelon Allen, and Isaiah Davis (via Cimini). That would stand to limit Hall’s production in his platform season, and as Cimini observes, Glenn’s comments could certainly fuel trade speculation.

Despite Hall’s inability to recapture his 2022 form, Cimini believes he would generate interest from rival teams. 

Extensions For Jets’ 2022 First-Rounders Not Imminent; Team Unlikely To Explore Early Extension For RB Breece Hall

March 16th, 2025 at 8:11am CST by Rory Parks

There are myriad reasons why the Jets have failed to post an above-.500 record since 2015, but the top of their 2022 draft class is not one of them. CB Sauce Gardner (No. 4 overall pick in 2022), WR Garrett Wilson (No. 10), and DE Jermaine Johnson (No. 26) form a talented young foundation that could help lead the club back to playoff contention, and that trio is now extension-eligible for the first time.

Gardner, 24, took a step back last year after earning First Team All-Pro acclaim in each of his first two pro seasons. Still, a player who possesses his youth and talent and who plays a premium position can command a massive second contract, and the Cincinnati product has made clear his desire to sign such a contract with the Jets.

“I want to be part of this for a long time,“ Gardner said back in January. “I want to be part of the change in this organization.“

Wilson, also 24, seemed a bit more reticent about his future with New York, at least partially because of perceived tension with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and competition for targets with 2024 deadline acquisition Davante Adams. However, with the club having released both of the former Packers standouts, it is believed Wilson is more amenable to a long-term relationship with Gang Green (which could be especially true now that he has been reunited with college teammate Justin Fields; ESPN’s Rich Cimini details the close relationship the former Buckeyes enjoy).

Johnson, 26, was limited to just two games in 2024 due to an Achilles tear, though he totaled 7.5 sacks, 25 pressures, and a forced fumble in 2023, his first season as a full-time starter. The Jets are expected to exercise his fifth-year option for 2026, and Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic (subscription required) confirms that the team plans to exercise the option for all three of its 2022 first-rounders (picking up the Gardner and Wilson options is a particularly easy call for new GM Darren Mougey to make).

Naturally, the players themselves want to land lucrative extensions sooner rather than later, while the Jets may not feel as pressured since they can keep all three under club control through 2026 via the fifth-year option and can put the franchise tag on one of them for the 2027 season. On the other hand, as Connor Hughes of SNY.tv observes, locking up a player when they are first eligible sends a positive message to the player and the team as a whole, and it can get a second contract out of the way before markets for certain positions soar even higher.

Hughes believes Mougey is more amenable than his predecessor, Joe Douglas, to entertain an early extension. Douglas was not necessarily adverse to the idea; in order for him to green-light such a deal, though, he wanted certain concessions from the player (lower guarantees, longer contract term, etc.). Mougey may not be as demanding in that regard.

That could spell good news for the Gardner/Wilson/Johnson triumvirate. But Hughes – in a piece that was published before free agency got underway – said no extensions are imminent. 

At this year’s scouting combine, in response to a question about whether he would sign off on extensions for Gardner and Wilson, Mougey said, “[t]he to-do list is to keep good young players on the team and add good players, so yeah” (via Cimini).

Cimini observes that Mougey did not set a concrete date for talks to commence, and he also points out that cornerbacks and wide receivers have not generally received new deals prior to their fourth NFL season. That said, recent contracts authorized for players like Patrick Surtain II, Jaylen Waddle, and DeVonta Smith could indicate the league is changing its modus operandi.

According to Hughes, the negotiations for Gardner are expected to be straightforward. Despite not earning any Pro Bowl or All-Pro accolades for his 2024 work, there is no doubt he will reset the CB market. Wilson will be trickier, because although he is a terrific player, it could be difficult to pinpoint exactly where he falls in the league’s WR hierarchy (and of course he could value himself differently than the Jets do).

None of the writers cited above mention Johnson’s name in connection with an extension in the near future. His Achilles injury certainly muddies the waters a bit, and player and team may prefer to wait to see how he rebounds before engaging in substantive contract talks.

Similarly, Rosenblatt says it is unlikely the Jets pursue an early extension for running back Breece Hall (who, as a 2022 second-rounder, is is not subject to a fifth-year option and is therefore eligible for free agency in 2026). Hall was electric in his rookie season, turning 80 carries into 463 yards (5.8 YPC) and four rushing TDs. ACL and meniscus tears ended that promising showing early, and while he rebounded to play a full 17-game slate in 2023, he was not quite as explosive (though his 4.5 YPC average was still strong).

His efficiency dipped again in 2024, as he posted a 4.2 YPC rate over 209 carries. He continues to be a valuable receiving weapon, as he has notched 133 receptions for 1,074 yards and seven receiving scores over the past two seasons, but the dynamo that took the league by (an admittedly brief) storm in 2022 has not resurfaced.

Two 2024 draftees, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis, are under contract through 2027 and could represent the Jets’ long-term future at the RB position.

Kyle Hamilton, Tyler Linderbaum Extensions On Ravens’ Radar

January 22nd, 2025 at 12:24pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Ravens’ heartbreaking loss to the Bills on Sunday might have ended their playing season, but general manager Eric DeCosta is already working on the team’s offseason moves.

Pending free agents like Ronnie Stanley, Patrick Ricard, and Ar’Darius Washington may be his first priority, but he’s also preparing for long-term extension negotiations with Kyle Hamilton and Tyler Linderbaum, who will be eligible for such deals this offseason. DeCosta said on Wednesday that the team is starting to work on those contracts, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.

DeCosta struck gold with his two first-rounders in 2022, taking Hamilton when he fell to the 14th pick and pulling off a few trades to land Linderbaum 11 selections later. Linderbaum immediately took over Baltimore’s starting center job, while Hamilton slid into the slot and was starting by the end of the year. Both players earned PFWA All-Rookie selections before Pro Bowl nods in 2023 and 2024, placing them among the best at their positions after just three years in the NFL.

The 2022 draftees each have one year remaining on their rookie contracts, plus their fifth-year options for the 2026 season. With two Pro Bowls apiece, their fifth-year options will be at the fourth and highest tier, which is equal to the franchise tag at their positions.(Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is the only other 2022 first-rounder to qualify for the highest fifth-year option tier.)

The Ravens will almost certainly pick up Hamilton’s fifth-year option, projected to be $19.626MM by OverTheCap, but he will be looking for a higher average annual value on a long-term extension. Antoine Winfield reset the safety market with his four-year, $84.1MM extension last offseason, but Hamilton can argue that he deserves more. He is one of the most versatile defensive players in the league with the ability to make plays against the run or pass from nearly any alignment. His first 2.5 seasons leaned into that versatility, but with Baltimore’s pass defense struggling in 2024, Hamilton moved into a more traditional deep safety role and locked down the deep parts of the field.

Linderbaum’s situation is a little more complicated. The NFL groups all offensive linemen together for franchise tag and fifth-year option calculations, so Linderbaum’s option is projected to be a whopping $25.156MM, far outpacing Creed Humphrey‘s league-leading $18MM APY. Linderbaum is an excellent pass protector who can be used as a blocking weapon in the run game, so he still deserves to be paid at the top of the center market, but the inflated option could impact negotiations. The Ravens will likely still pick it up as a show of good faith to make it clear that the young center is in their long-term plans.

Sauce Gardner Interested In Jets Extension; D.J. Reed Eyeing Free Agency

January 6th, 2025 at 6:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Like the Jets as a whole, Sauce Gardner did not live up to expectations this season. The two-time All-Pro was not selected to the Pro Bowl, as the Jets plummeted to 5-12 despite regular playoff expectations. The team still has some extension matters to navigate.

The three first-round picks the team made in 2022 — Gardner, Garrett Wilson, Jermaine Johnson — are now extension-eligible, as is starting running back Breece Hall. While the Aaron Rodgers matter may overshadow everything else (player-wise, at least) until he is off the Jets’ roster, the franchise still has a number of matters to sort out involving its rookie-contract contingent.

[RELATED: Rodgers Not Expected To Garner Heavy FA Interest]

Wilson is not believed to have seen eye-to-eye with Rodgers, and rumors about a trade request continue to surface. The Jets will have new decision-makers ticketed to deal with the Wilson matter soon — a number of GM and HC interview requests went out today — but Gardner is a more accomplished player who is also free to sign a new deal now. Unlike Wilson, Gardner has made his long-term wishes known.

“I want to be part of this for a long time,” Gardner said, via ESPN.com’s Rich Cimini. “I want to be part of the change in this organization.”

This comes after a host of reports tabbed Woody Johnson (and his sons) as being overly involved in personnel decisions, creating more instability for the franchise that has the NFL’s longest active playoff drought — at 14 seasons. The team found a gem in Gardner, however, despite his slight step backward in Year 3. The former No. 4 overall pick is a two-time first-team All-Pro, already rocketing to the top fifth-year option tier — which doubles as the franchise tag value — at corner. The Jets will pick up that option by May, giving them two more years of control.

The physical corner has long been deemed a big-picture priority, while slot defender Michael Carter already signed his extension. With Carter signed and the Jets — barring a drastic approach change from the next front office — eyeing a Gardner extension, D.J. Reed appears close to gone. The former 49ers and Seahawks CB’s three-year deal expires in March, and he has already alluded to testing the market. Reed expanded on that stance recently.

“Obviously, in this league, it’s about winning,” Reed told the New York Post’s Bridget Reilly. “But, you could go to a good organization, you think is a good organization, and the year you go there, they’re not winning. I think it’s deeper than just winning. I think it’s just being in a stable organization that has a winning culture and just being in a good environment, a healthy environment.”

Even the most ardent of Jets backers would have a difficult time classifying it as a stable organization presently, and with Carter and Gardner higher priorities, Reed appears set to hit the market again. He will follow the likes of Chidobe Awuzie and Kendall Fuller as a corner seeking a third payday in free agency. Both did fairly well, Awuzie especially (via a three-year, $36MM deal) in 2024. Reed, who is playing out a three-year deal worth $33MM, turned 28 in November and has been a regular starter for five seasons. The ex-Seahawk regular graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 29 overall corner in 2024; Gardner ranked 32nd, per the advanced metrics site.

Gardner, 24, has a new cornerback market to survey after the paydays went out to Patrick Surtain and Jalen Ramsey last summer; both topped $24MM per year on a market that had been stuck at $21MM AAV for more than two years. Reed will not be targeting that, but the proven starter should be able to do well on the open market in his late 20s.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/25

January 4th, 2025 at 9:47pm CST by Ely Allen

The last minor moves and standard gameday elevations of the 2024 NFL regular season:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ross’ new deal to the Texans’ 53-man roster is good through the 2025 season, as well. Ditto for Jones, signed to the active roster in New England today.

Sanders returned to practice this week, and his activation will allow him to close out his second Panthers season on the field rather than on the mend. His Carolina tenure has fallen well short of expectations and a release in the near future could be in the cards. Given the team’s backfield injuries, though, Sanders could handle a notable workload tomorrow while potentially auditioning for free agent suitors.

Gilman’s return will be welcomed by the Chargers’ defense. The 27-year-old has remained a full-time starter this season, his second straight handling first-team duties. Los Angeles is assured of a wild-card spot, but moving up to the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture could be possible on Sunday. In any case, Gilman’s presence will be key for a Bolts defense which leads the league in points allowed per game (17.6).

Gardner’s campaign will come to an end after 15 games played. He fell short of a Pro Bowl nod for this first time in his young career, but the fourth pick of the 2022 draft remained a critical member of the team’s secondary when healthy. Gardner is eligible for an extension this offseason, and his financial future (which will include a fifth-year option decision in the spring) will be a key point of focus once New York’s head coach/general manager tandem is in place.