Sauce Gardner unpacks excited reaction to being traded to the Colts: 'I was running in circles in the house'

Sauce Gardner called the last 48 hours the craziest of his life. He didn't see it coming, but he's grateful for the whirlwind that's landed him with the Indianapolis Colts midseason.

Hours before the trade deadline Tuesday, the New York Jets sent Gardner, a two-time All-Pro cornerback they drafted fourth overall out of Cincinnati in 2022, to the Colts in exchange for 2026 and 2027 first-round picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell.

"I didn't even have time to process it all the way," Gardner said Thursday when he was asked if he was surprised by the move. "I just knew I was coming into a great situation. So, like, I was running in circles in the house."

The first thought that crossed his mind was that he was going to be reunited with his college teammate, wide receiver Alec Pierce. Then Gardner thought about how the Colts are 7-2.

"They winning right now," he said, two days removed from being part of a 1-7 Jets squad. "So I just know what I can add. I was just - I was happy.

"But at the same time, I didn't have no time to be like, 'Dang, I'm getting traded right now.' I was just all good vibes. Because at the end of the day, who gonna feel sorry? That's part of the business. Just like, these last couple days I've been having to learn the playbook at a pace I didn't know I was capable of learning the playbook. But who gonna feel sorry for me? Nobody. ... Yeah, I'm not going to say 'shocked' was the word because I know what the Colts offered was something that was hard to pass up on, especially how it's been over the years. It made sense."

"I was running in circles in the house"

Sauce Gardner reflects on what it was like to find out he was traded to the Colts. He says he is coming into a "great situation" here in Indy. pic.twitter.com/sL3WDE2YiY

- WISH-TV News (@WISHNews8) November 6, 2025

Gardner explained during his Colts introductory press conference that the trade was less about the Jets wanting to ship him off and more about how badly Indianapolis wanted him.

He said that he's not looking at the Colts' win-now move as if he's their "missing piece." Instead, he sees himself as a "great additional piece" to the Indianapolis defense.

Gardner said that he appreciated hearing about the transaction from Jets general manager Darren Mougey first. He also clarified that he never asked for a trade, and that that's not something he ever sees himself doing in the NFL "because it's a blessing to just be able to play on Sundays."

"That's what make it even much more beautiful, going through those tough times, those rough times and things like that," he said. "And then things could change in a matter of a night."

Gardner said he enjoyed his time in New York and shouted out his teammates as well as those who made his record-breaking four-year, $120.4 million extension possible this summer. He's welcoming the unexpected change, though.

Gardner said he got the call from Mougey when he was laying in bed with his girlfriend on Tuesday.

"Obviously the trade deadline was coming up," Gardner recounted Thursday. "So I was just like, 'Please let it be my ideal situation.' I don't want to go to a losing team. I don't want to go to a team that's like on the other side of the world.

"When he told me the Colts ... obviously I got drafted [by the Jets] and everything like that, but I want to win and things like that. So this was a great situation."

Gardner is closer to Detroit, where he grew up, and Cincinnati, where he played college ball, but he will have to play on the other side of the world - Sunday that is, as the Colts are traveling to Germany for a Week 10 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.

"I've barely slept, so I'm looking forward to this flight," Gardner said Thursday, drawing laughter from Colts reporters.