What Sauce Gardner trade tells us about Colts’ mindset originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Indianapolis Colts, who currently occupy the No. 1 seed in the AFC, made a huge splash shortly before Tuesday’s trade deadline, acquiring two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner in a trade with the New York Jets. At 25, Gardner is a young player. Still, this trade should be a signal to the rest of the NFL that the Colts are all-in on the season.
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And when we look deeper into their roster, it makes sense.
While the Colts have been one of the NFL’s biggest surprises in 2025, they’re not a particularly young team. The average age of the 10 most expensive players (by AAV) on the Indianapolis roster is nearly 29. Only two of those players have contracts that run beyond the 2029 season.
Perhaps the most notable of those players is quarterback Daniel Jones. Jones, generally regarded as a first-round bust (or at least disappointment), signed a one-year deal with the Colts before the 2025 season. He was signed to compete with third-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Jones won the starting job in training camp and has absolutely flourished this season. He’s already vastly outperformed the $14 million he’s making this year.
The problem for the Colts is that Jones is on a one-year deal. If he’s brought back in 2026, he will be significantly more expensive. If he’s not brought back in 2026, the Colts will head into the season with a lot of uncertainty at the quarterback position.
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Mind you, none of that means that Indianapolis will be a one-year wonder in 2025, returning to mediocrity in 2026. It does, however, raise some doubts about 2026 and beyond. That makes 2025 particularly important.
So, while the Colts trading for Gardner was one of the biggest surprises of the day, it also makes complete sense.