After being mentioned by Ravens’ cornerback Marlon Humphrey on his podcast, the Jets’ star cornerback responded on “X”
New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner has officially responded to comments made about his play.
On his podcast “Punch Line with Marlon Humphrey,” the Baltimore Ravens’ All-Pro cornerback said that Gardner got “away with a lot last year” regarding physicality at the cornerback position.
In response to the comments, the Jets’ All-Pro cornerback said, “Me personally, if I gotta say ‘I’m not hating’ before I say something about somebody, then I’m just not gon’ say it. That’s me tho.”
Me personally, if I gotta say "I'm not hating" before I say something about somebody then I'm just not gon' say it😂That's me tho . https://t.co/TUVNCfcyqM
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) November 14, 2023
It is very interesting to see another high-level defender in Humphrey throw shade at Gardner, whether intentionally or not.
Both players are talented cornerbacks, an essential commodity in the modern-day NFL. Humphrey has been in the league much longer than Gardner, as he came into the league in 2017 from Alabama.
The long-time Raven has been one of the better corners in the league when healthy, evidenced by his first-team All-Pro selection in 2019 and his three Pro Bowl selections. However, Humphrey has dealt with injuries in the past few seasons and has started to see his play slightly decline.
Gardner has been one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks since he was drafted. Last season, he was a first-team All-Pro and won the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year. Building off that season, Gardner has only allowed 192 yards this season and has five pass breakups. He has shut down almost every opponent across from him, resulting in the league’s third-best PFF coverage grade at 88.9 (among CB to play at least 300 snaps).
It seems illogical for a fellow defensive back to complain about a lack of penalties. By implying that Gardner needs to be penalized, the NFL may increase the number of flags on passing plays, theoretically hurting Humphrey’s play style as well.
The comments are another example of Sauce Gardner being scrutinized. Whether by opposing players or fans, Gardner seems to have plenty of people critiquing his playing style over a less than two-year-old career.
When that player has as much success as Sauce, though, the criticism is not surprising. If the star cornerback continues his current level of play for the Jets, Humphrey will not be the last person to try to critique Gardner and make comments about him.
