The Lions paid Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner the ultimate compliment on Sunday, but Gardner wasn’t happy about it.
Detroit never once threw a pass to the receiver Gardner was covering, showing just how much the Lions respect the rookie cornerback. Gardner, who grew up a Lions fan, said on Monday that he hated being taken out of the game like that.
“I wasn’t targeted yesterday, not once,” Gardner said. “I don’t know what their mentality is or mindset is when they go up against us, but yesterday, I wasn’t targeted. I take that kind of personally because I actually wanted to make a bigger and a better impact on the game, especially going against my hometown team. . . . I didn’t get targeted so I didn’t get that opportunity.”
Gardner said he recognizes that the Lions were showing him respect, but he badly wanted them to test him.
“Definitely it is a huge sign of respect, but if I catch the ball and I get a pick-six I could put points on the board, or catch an interception and flip the field, something to get us some points,” Gardner said.
Now Gardner is getting ready to face the Jaguars on Thursday night, and hoping that Trevor Lawrence throws a pass in his direction.
