How much did Sauce Gardner pay D.J. Reed for his No. 1 New York Jets jersey?
The “Sauce Gardner, cornerback, No. 20” era was short-lived in the land of New York Jets football. After donning a No. 20 jersey for a few days at rookie minicamp, Gardner quickly switched back to the signature No. 1 that he wore at the University of Cincinnati.
Gardner’s preferred digit previously belonged to fellow cornerback D.J. Reed, a free-agent acquisition via the Seattle Seahawks. Reed switched to a No. 4 jersey to open up the No. 1 for Sauce.
Fans assumed that the fourth overall pick must have paid his veteran teammate a hefty chunk of change to facilitate the swap – and they were right.
Speaking to the media on the opening day of mandatory minicamp, Gardner revealed the sum that he paid Reed to acquire his No. 1 jersey: a cool $50,000.
#Jets rookie CB Sauce Gardner will officially wear No. 1 moving forward.
Paid CB D.J. Reed $50,000 – via wire – to get the jersey number.
So there ya go.
— Dennis Waszak Jr. (@DWAZ73) June 14, 2022
Gardner has been making a good impression on people in the building so far. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said the thing that impresses him most about Gardner is that he “doesn’t repeat errors.”
#Jets DC Jeff Ulbrich was asked what has impressed him by CB Sauce Gardner so far:
"He doesn't repeat errors."
Raves about his work ethic and hunger to learn and get better.
— Dennis Waszak Jr. (@DWAZ73) June 14, 2022
In this clip from minicamp, Gardner works on his press-bail technique while matched up across from fellow cornerback Isaiah Dunn (No. 27). Gardner shows off the catch radius bestowed by his 6-foot-3 frame and 33.5-inch arms as he leaps up and snags a pass.
Sauce snag 🥵 @iamSauceGardner pic.twitter.com/w9sKrQQZoT
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) June 14, 2022
I think everyone can agree that the No. 1 is a phenomenal fit for Gardner. It’s a seamless match for his body type, mirroring the Detroit native’s endless length. This is especially true in the Jets’ jersey number font, as the No. 1 is simply a vertical line in their uniform set.
Gardner will be hoping that his jersey number closely resembles the number of touchdown passes that he allowed this season. After all, he didn’t give up a single touchdown over his entire three-year college career, so it wouldn’t be anything new if he continued laying goose eggs in the “TD” column as an NFL corner.
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