In the driest part of the NFL calendar, leave it to Sauce Gardner to give New York Jets fans some drama to chew on.
Sticking to his active ways on social media, Gardner added his two cents to the developing situation around Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin. His cryptic input could be interpreted in a few different ways.
The Commanders’ second-team All-Pro wide receiver is reportedly “frustrated” with Washington over the lack of progress toward a long-term contract extension. McLaurin recently left the team’s voluntary workouts.
Originally reported by Jordan Schultz, this news was relayed by The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov in a separate X post, which Gardner reposted onto his official account.
Gardner is often blunt with his social media commentary, but he will also dabble in the cryptic side of things, as he did here. As a modern-day professional athlete, your social game is incomplete without a little bit of subtle hinting to the masses.
Optimistic fans might interpret Gardner’s repost as a hint that he would like the Jets to make a trade offer for McLaurin. Gardner has been known to recruit players on social media in the past, most famously with Aaron Rodgers in 2023. (Rest in peace, cheesehead.)
More likely, though, Gardner is using McLaurin’s situation to echo his own feelings about his contract negotiations with the Jets.
Gardner has made various posts this offseason expressing his desire to sign a long-term contract extension with New York, but nothing has come to fruition yet.
The two-time first-team All-Pro is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract. It runs through the 2026 season, as the Jets picked up his fifth-year option earlier this offseason.
However, it is customary for players of Gardner’s caliber to be extended after their third season. Fellow 2022 first-round cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. signed a three-year, $90 million extension with the Texans this March.
Jets general manager Darren Mougey said in March that extension talks would be put on hold until after the draft. In May, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler told Jets X-Factor’s Connor Long that the Jets have had “initial talks” with Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson, even extending offers to both players, but nothing appears imminent as of now.
By reposting the news of McLaurin’s frustrations with the team that drafted him, Gardner is likely expressing that he feels the same way about his discussions with New York. That is completely open to interpretation, though. Maybe it is another recruiting effort.
Only Gardner truly knows, but the fun part is that we get to sit here and debate over it. In early June, these are the breadcrumbs we must savor as NFL fans and writers.
