Sauce

Gardner

Head coach Shane Steichen told reporters earlier in the week that the plan was for Gardner to suit up this week if he cleared concussion protocol in time. He should be in the starting lineup on Sunday. Gardner will be tasked with covering Drake London in his Colts debut.

Earlier today, Colts head coach Shane Steichen told reporters that Gardner would practice despite remaining in the concussion protocol. Clarification on his expected participation level could have saved everyone time, but alas, the competitive advantage gained by obfuscation reigns supreme. Gardner is now on track to play in Week 10 against the Falcons, barring a setback.

Gardner, according to head coach Shane Steichen, will practice Wednesday despite being in the protocol. He hasn’t played since Week 7 and seems iffy to suit up in Week 10 against the Falcons after being traded to the Colts on Tuesday. Steichen said Gardner would likely suit up against Atlanta if he clears concussion protocol. While Gardner’s early-career play has fallen off a bit over the past couple years, he’ll be a marked upgrade for an injury-riddled Colts secondary.

Mitchell was buried on the Colts depth chart after he fumbled a touchdown away before the goalline, costing Indianapolis a win against the Rams. He played only 24 offensive snaps in four games afterwards. This could not be any better of a situation for him to rebound ... except for the fact that the Jets have no real quarterback. Mitchell should quickly become the Jets No. 2 wideout opposite of Garrett Wilson. He’s not worth a huge pre-emptive strike in FAAB or anything given the Jets’ circumstances, but Mitchell does have big time talent and it is exciting to see him in an opportunity where he has a chance to realize it.

Chris Ballard has paid the first-round pick freight for a defender before, when he added DeForest Buckner to the Colts ahead of the 2020 season. It’s a stunning repudiation of the Jets’ plan to have Gardner in their core, but then again they probably never pictured they would be able to get two first-round picks for him before signing him to a long-term extension. Indianapolis’ cornerback room has been in dire need of an upgrade like this on paper for a long time. The problem is that it’s mostly on paper at this point, as Gardner has posted back-to-back PFF coverage grades of 68.1 in 2025 and 73.1 in 2024, a far cry from his 2022 and 2023 seasons. He has not taken to Aaron Glenn’s aggressive system quite as well as expected, and perhaps not as well as the Jets expected either. So the Jets will take the rebuilding road here. For the Colts, even if Gardner isn’t who he was in his first two seasons, he’s a massive upgrade as they attempt to hold on to the AFC South and prime playoff seeding. Their starting cornerbacks last week were Jaylon Jones and Mekhi Blackmon, and once Charvarius Ward is healthy they could throw out Ward, Gardner, and Kenny Moore come playoff time.

Gardner suiting up for Week 8 more or less came down to whether or not he could clear concussion protocol in time. After being a DNP in back-to-back practices to open the week, Gardner was unable to clear protocol on Friday and will be ruled out as a result. It’s a tough break for a defense that has struggled through the first half of the season and now has to deal with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in what should be a favorable matchup for the Bengals’ top-two offensive players, in addition to Joe Flacco.

Gardner is trending toward a Week 8 absence against the Bengals, which is bad news for the Jets and good news for fantasy managers. Both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins should have solid outings against the Jets regardless of Gardner’s health, but if Gardner is indeed ruled out, it raises both players’ scoring ceilings.

Gardner was checked for a concussion earlier this year but never entered the league’s protocol. That isn’t the case this time around. Opening the week with a DNP makes him unlikely to suit up on Sunday. The Jets were already one of the league’s worst defenses and will now be taking on the Bengals without their top corner.

Gardner left Week 3’s game against the Buccaneers with what was believed to be a concussion but never entered the league’s protocol. Now, the fourth-year corner will enter concussion protocol and have to clear it in time to play in Week 8’s game against the Bengals lively passing attack.

It was a rough day for Gardner before he got hurt late in the fourth quarter. He kept the Bucs’ first drive alive with a brutal holding penalty on a third-and-30. He was beaten a few times later during the game by both Mike Evans and Emeka Egbuka. Gardner was hurt trying to make a tackle in the fourth quarter, and the Jets will hope he passes the requisite concussion tests.