Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson ready to help end Jets' playoff drought after signing new contract extensions
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Sauce Gardner was filming a commercial last week when he found out that Garrett Wilson agreed to a contract extension with the Jets. Gardner called Wilson to congratulate him and made another call.
Gardner called his agents, who received an offer from the Jets that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback. The Jets almost agreed to terms with both players on the same day. But Gardner told his agents to wait one more day before accepting. He didn’t want to take any attention or joy away from Wilson.
“I told my team, ‘We’re not agreeing to it today,’” Gardner said Tuesday when veterans reported for training camp. “I want Garrett to have his day, like his full day to himself to just feel good about himself, to spend that time with his family and stuff like that. I'll do mine tomorrow. That's how it went, and we were just very excited.”
New general manager Darren Mougey and first-year head coach Aaron Glenn made it very clear how much they value the Jets’ two young stars. Wilson signed a four-year, $130 million extension. Gardner officially signed his four-year, $120.4 million deal on Tuesday.
When they were drafted in 2022, Gardner and Wilson talked about turning around the Jets. It hasn’t happened yet, but they remain confident that they will.
“I've always kept my faith that this thing's going to turn around and I'm going to be a big part of why it does,” Wilson said.
It meant a great deal to Wilson and Gardner that the new regime, which didn’t draft them or work with them before this year, committed to them through 2030 and believe they can help make the Jets a winning team.
“I’ve been here three years. We haven't won many games,” Wilson said. “I haven't had the season that I had hoped and for them to still come in here and believe in me and say, ‘Hey, we think you can be a part of this successful side of this thing for years to come’ is awesome. So I'm ecstatic, man — for real.”
Gardner said, “Me and Garrett was talking, and saying how we got to compete, how we got to make it seem like we underpaid still. That's our mentality.”
The Jets reported for camp with the usual high expectations that this will be the year they end their long playoff drought. They’ve gone 14 straight seasons without a playoff berth and nine consecutive with a losing record. Gardner and Wilson have experienced the last three — and it eats at them.
“It's been pretty painful,” Gardner said.
Wilson is one of only two Jets to record three-straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. When asked what the next step for him, “playing meaningful football,” was how Wilson responded.
“That's THE thing, the only thing,” Wilson said. “I feel like I haven’t done anything. Just play meaningful football. That's all. Just play in December and January when it matters and when you're playing for something and go out and make plays, do what you do, but on the highest stage.”
Gardner, a two-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl player, has ambitions of being the best cornerback, but winning is what drives him more.
“My legacy that I want to leave is I want to win games,” Gardner said. “I think we have the players, the coaches and everything that it takes to win games and to win a lot of games.”
Gardner and Wilson were the first Jets’ first-round picks to sign an extension after three seasons. The last Jets’ first-rounder to sign an extension was defensive tackle Quinnen Williams two years ago.
Williams said he’s “super excited for them” because of how hard Gardner and Wilson work and is glad they all will continue to chase the same goal.
“I’m super happy that they got done and they are part of this organization for the years to come,” Williams said. “I want to be a part of this organization to turn this thing around, to get the New York Jets to the Super Bowl that it desperately deserves. And I know those two guys are going to help me. I know those two guys are willing to do the same thing that I'm willing to do when it comes down to winning football games.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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