New York Jets’ Sauce Gardner does not care what others think of him
Sauce Gardner is not letting the outside noise get to him.
During his media availability on Wednesday, the New York Jets’ star cornerback spoke about ESPN’s rankings article that had an NFL executive call him “overrated” and “handsy.”
“Everybody is entitled to their own opinion,” Gardner said. “If it were year one, I probably would be feeling a certain type of way. But if you had to ask everybody their favorite corner, I do not think everybody would say me. Some people say I’m number two, some people say I’m number three, and I saw that some people say I’m not top ten. But, that’s their opinion, and I can’t be mad at you for having an opinion.”
The star cornerback said receivers always compliment him for his play and that the talk from anonymous sources “goes in one ear and out the other.”
As usual, Gardner is displaying a high level of maturity for an elite player.
It would be easy for the cornerback to complain about executives slighting him or getting unanimous recognition for his high-level play. But Gardner remains humble. He has a desire to continuously improve and not rest on the laurels of two straight first-team All-Pro selections.
This mentality should help the Jets’ defense immensely. The unit has already proven it is one of the best in the NFL. But with players like Gardner still hungry to improve, there is no reason that they will see any dip in production in 2024.
