How the Jets' trades of Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams look one year later

One year ago this week, the New York Jets altered the trajectory of three franchises in less time than it takes to play a football game. On Nov. 4, 2025, ahead of the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline, they sent cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to the Dallas Cowboys. Since then, the combined record of the three teams is 14-35.

The aftershocks have been most severe in Indianapolis. General manager Chris Ballard, long reluctant to make aggressive moves before paying two first-round picks for Gardner, was fired Oct. 19. Coach Shane Steichen is 3-13 since the trade and fighting for his job. The Colts were 7-2 when they made the deal, believing Gardner was the missing piece. They have since collapsed, recently trading guard Quenton Nelson and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner for draft capital, and their latest result was a 42-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Gardner has missed five of a possible 16 games since the trade because of calf injuries. "It's definitely tough," he said. "I'm a man of faith, so it's just one of those things where it's like, everything happens for a reason." Facing a likely roster rebuild without a 2027 first-round pick, he added, "I embrace everything."

In Dallas, Williams was unhappy with his play in eight games last season despite making the Pro Bowl, yet the Cowboys signed him to a three-year, $105.9 million extension in August. The defense still struggles against the run, but his play has improved. His 11 tackles for loss rank second in the NFL and lead all defensive tackles, and he tops the Cowboys with five sacks. A captain and leadership council member whose locker sits next to Dak Prescott's, Williams has earned a loud voice in the room. "When he talks, everybody kind of stops and listens," coach Brian Schottenheimer said. Dallas still has a 43% chance to make the playoffs, per ESPN Analytics, though Schottenheimer could face pressure if the team fails to challenge in a watered-down NFC East.

For the Jets, the Gardner deal returned first-round picks in 2026 and 2027 plus wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, widely seen as a throw-in but a player New York insisted be included. The Williams trade brought a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Mazi Smith, whom they cut in training camp, along with the rights to the better of Dallas' two 2027 first-round selections. The Jets became the first team in the common-draft era, dating to 1967, to make multiple in-season trades to acquire a first-round pick.

So far, the deals have directly produced three players on the current roster: Mitchell, tight end Kenyon Sadiq and nickelback D'Angelo Ponds. Mitchell is coming off a career game with 142 receiving yards. The Gardner trade also opened a starting job for cornerback Azareye'h Thomas, a 2025 third-round pick. "I was shocked. Who wouldn't be shocked? Sauce is a household name," Thomas recalled. Coach Aaron Glenn, 4-13 and also fighting for his job, declined to revisit the trades beyond calling Gardner and Williams "great players and quality people."

There are costs. The Jets have not replaced Williams' interior presence: their current defensive tackles have produced only three sacks, with none ranking in the top 40 in ESPN's pass rush win rate. They are also carrying nearly $21 million in 2026 cap hits from the two trades.

The real verdict arrives in April, when the Jets could become the second franchise in 25 years, joining the 2019 Las Vegas Raiders, to enter the draft with three first-round picks. ESPN Analytics projects them to hold the fifth, sixth and 14th selections, and the Colts' pick could climb into the top three or four. With a glaring quarterback need and 36-year-old Geno Smith considered a bridge, draft analyst Jordan Reid lists Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker, Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Miami's Darian Mensah as first-round possibilities, with Georgia linebacker Chris Cole and Minnesota interior lineman Greg Johnson also in the mix.

Opinions around the league already favor New York. "For the Jets, the Sauce Gardner trade might be one of the best of all time because of the draft compensation," an AFC personnel scout said, adding it may rank among the worst in Colts history because of the collapse. A former NFC GM was more blunt: "In hindsight, it worked out pretty well.. They can get well soon if they find a quarterback."