Jets' Sauce Gardner decides to shut out the outside noise

Sauce Gardner used to let it bother him. It left him wondering why he often was under attack.

He would scroll his phone and read the shots people were taking at him on social media, even from some who played in the NFL. The Jets’ star cornerback got it from all angles and on just about everything he did.

If he missed a tackle or was beaten in coverage, the Sauce haters would pounce.

If they believed he got away with a holding penalty or pass interference, the critical comments would flood his timeline.

Former Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel threw shade at Gardner after an ESPN poll two years ago named him the second-best cornerback in the league. That led to some Twitter drama between Samuel, Gardner and legendary former Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Gardner, who scrubbed all social media from his phone for a stretch last season, is not letting any of this affect him anymore. He’s focused on achieving personal and team goals and has stopped worrying about what others have to say.

“I love that everything I do is under a microscope,” Gardner said. “I set the bar so high for myself that I’m really competing with myself right now . . . and I love that.

“I love challenges. It kind of took me a little time to have that mentality, but I embrace it a lot.”

It wasn’t until this year that Gardner realized he can’t let outside noise bother him. Last season, he tweeted at a reporter who noted a missed tackle and a fan who posts Jets content on social media. Gardner later apologized.

“Last year, I would see [something] and I’d be like, ‘Bro, what?!’ And then I would keep going,” Gardner said. “But now, it’s not even a ‘Bro, what?!’ It’s like, I expect people to blow up everything, make things more than what it is. So I don’t even really acknowledge it now. But [my] first and second year, I would be sitting here, just looking like, ‘Yo, seriously?’ Then it kind of faded away. Now it’s not even a factor at all.”

New Jets coach Aaron Glenn might have influenced this change in Gardner.

Glenn has preached and emphasized that his players have “emotional maturity.” He gave an example of quarterback Justin Fields needing to disregard the critics and focus on his coaches and teammates and improving. The same applies for Gardner, a lightning rod for criticism as well.

“Just being an athlete in general, sometimes people have so many opinions about what you should do about this game and have no clue what it’s about,” Glenn said. “Sometimes players can hear that noise and don’t realize, you’re going to always hear that. That’s just the nature of it. You’re going to get criticized.

“People have expectations, and that’s OK, but you can’t have people have higher expectations of you than you have for yourself. I think it’s one thing that our guys are really starting to latch on to and understand.”

Gardner is entering his fourth season and recently signed the richest contract for a cornerback in NFL history. The Jets gave him a four-year deal for $120.4 million that runs through 2030.

Last season didn’t go as expected for the Jets or Gardner. After earning All-Pro status and making the Pro Bowl his first two seasons, he saw his play took a little dip last year.

His passes defended and number of tackles decreased from the first two years. His passer rating against and completion percentage, catches and receiving yards allowed increased.

Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks have challenged Gardner to be a better tackler and leader and to play at an elite level more consistently. Gardner has accepted those challenges and has had arguably his best camp as a pro.

“I’ve been working on everything,” he said. “I’m always going to be my biggest critic. By the time somebody else says something about something that has to do with me, I already told myself the exact same thing. I’m always on top of everything.”

Gardner said “it means a lot” that the Jets’ new regime thought enough of him to make him the highest-paid cornerback. It drives him even more to reach his goal to chase legendary status and be the best at his position regardless of what his critics think.

“I’m Sauce. I mean that in the most humble way,” Gardner said. “Like, no matter what I do, they’re going to make a huge deal out of it. I can miss a tackle. There’s a lot of people that miss tackles, but I just understand that like, I’m me. So people are just going to blow things out of proportion.

“It’s only the beginning [for me]. Things that I’ve accomplished, that’s all in the past. I’ve got to take that next step for what I want to accomplish in terms of being a leader and making even more plays. I know it’s a floor, but it ain’t no roof. The sky’s the limit for me and I’m very aware of that.”

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.