“I declare tampering!”
Well, perhaps it’s not me who’s declaring tampering—akin to “The Office’s” Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy—but somebody in the New York Jets universe certainly is. That man is Sauce Gardner.
In a wholly joking fashion, Gardner cited “tampering” on the part of a Pittsburgh Steelers fan on Wednesday.
The video above shows Gardner’s response to a video from Barstool’s “Fore Play Golf” show, which the Jets cornerback appeared on in late February.
“The Steelers need a corner,” Jersey Jerry said to Sauce while the two rode in a golf cart together. “
“They have Joey Porter,” Gardner responded.
Jerry: “Yeah, I know, we need another one. We need a two; we need a second corner.”
Sauce: “Y’all got Donte (Jackson).”
Jerry: “He’s getting old, though; he did his thing for a long time. He’s getting old. He had some back problems, ya know?”
Sauce: “Yeah.”
Jerry: “Listen, (Mike) Tomlin would love you.”
Sauce: “Tomlin is a cool coach, for sure.”
Jerry: “We’ve got the money, too. We’ll give you a new deal, Sauce. No?”
Sauce: “But I can just get a new deal with the Jets this offseason, though, too, man. I love it; I love New York, man.”
Jerry: “Yeah, I know. Aaron Glenn, too.”
Sauce: “Yeah, Aaron Glenn.”
Jerry: “Yeah, I know, he’s great.”
Yeah, this is the very definition of tampering—at least football fandom tampering.
Sauce, 24, is fresh off his worst season in the league. For the first time in his three seasons, he failed to make the Pro Bowl and be named as a First-Team All-Pro cornerback.
However, what pundits consider a “down year” is still an extremely productive season for the average cornerback.
Shame on Jersey Jerry. Here’s a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a franchise that has five Vince Lombardi trophies on the mantle and hasn’t had a losing season since 2006, attempting to poach one of the Jets’ best players.
Come on, Jerry; at least let New York Jets fans have Sauce Gardner. I guess Rod Woodson and Troy Polamalu weren’t enough.
