Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner (born August 31, 2000) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

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of the

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(NFL). He played

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for the Cincinnati Bearcats and was selected fourth overall by the Jets in the 2022 NFL draft. Gardner was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and was the first rookie cornerback since Ronnie Lott in 1981 to be named first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

Early life

Gardner was born on August 31, 2000, in

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. He attended Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, where he played

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

and

on their football team. In the Division 2 State Championship, Gardner caught four passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. After the season, Gardner was named an All-State selection at cornerback by the

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. A three-star cornerback recruit, Gardner committed to play

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

over offers from Akron, Alabama A&M, Ball State,

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, Central Michigan, Colorado State,

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, Iowa State,

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, Northern Illinois, Syracuse, Toledo, Western Michigan, and Youngstown State.

College career

In 2019, his true freshman season, Gardner played in 11 games. He had 31 tackles and three interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He also tallied 11 passes defended and eight pass breakups. After the season, Gardner was the only true freshman named to the American Athletic Conference first-team. As a sophomore in 2020, Gardner began the season atop the depth chart as a starter. As a junior, Gardner was voted to the

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and named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year en route to helping Cincinnati become the first Group of Five team to reach the

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. He declared for the 2022 NFL draft following the season.

College statistics

Professional career

Pre-draft

ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. and NFL analysts Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks ranked Gardner as the top cornerback prospect in the draft. Dane Brugler of ''

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'' and Rob Rang of

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ranked him as the second best cornerback in the draft. Pro Football Focus had him ranked third among all cornerbacks available in the draft. Cory Giddings of

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had Gardner ranked as the second best cornerback (11th overall) among his position group. NFL draft analysts and scouts unanimously projected him to be selected in the first round.

2022

The

selected Gardner in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. He was the second cornerback selected in the draft and also became the highest drafted cornerback in the Jets' franchise history, surpassing

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first round pick (ninth overall) Dee Milliner. He was also the first of three

defensive backs drafted along with second round pick (62nd overall) Bryan Cook and fourth round pick (102nd overall) Coby Bryant. 225px, Gardner (right) in his rookie season with the Jets. On May 7, 2022, the New York Jets signed Gardner to a fully-guaranteed four–year, $33.45 million

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

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that includes an initial

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of $21.50 million. Throughout training camp, he competed to be a starting cornerback against Bryce Hall under defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Head coach Robert Saleh named him a starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with D. J. Reed. On September 11, 2022, Gardner made his professional regular season debut and earned his first career start in the New York Jets' home-opener against the

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and recorded two solo tackles and one pass deflection during a 9–24 loss. On October 9, 2022, Gardner made five combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass by Teddy Bridgewater to wide receiver River Cracraft during a 40–17 victory against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. In Week 7, he set a season-high with ten combined tackles (eight solo) and had three pass deflections during a 16–9 victory at the

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. He earned the AFC Defensive Player of the Week. On November 6, 2022, he made seven combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass attempt thrown by Josh Allen to wide receiver Gabriel Davis during a 20–17 win against the

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. He started all 17 games as a rookie in 2022 and finished with a total of 75 combined tackles (51 solo), two interceptions, and led the league with 20 passes defensed. He was selected for the 2023 Pro Bowl Games, joining Tariq Woolen of the Seattle Seahawks as the only rookies selected. He won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and was also named a first-team

, becoming the first rookie cornerback to achieve the honor since Ronnie Lott in

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. He was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023. He received an overall grade of 88.5 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2022.

2023

He entered training camp slated as the ''de facto'' No. 1 starting cornerback. He was named a starting cornerback to begin the season and was paired with D. J. Reed. In Week 2, he set a season-high with six combined tackles (four solo) and had one pass deflection during a 10–30 loss at the

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. On October 14, 2023, the Jets announced that they chose to place Gardner in

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protocol and he would remain inactive for the Jets' Week 6 matchup against the

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. The concussion occurred during the week leading up to their 20–14 victory against the Eagles, but Gardner released a statement saying he was perfectly fine and he didn't agree with the decision to list him inactive. He finished the season with 57 combined tackles (41 solo), 11 pass deflections, and one forced fumble in 16 games and 16 starts. He earned Pro Bowl honors for the second consecutive season and was also selected to be first-team All-Pro. Gardner became the third defensive player and only cornerback in NFL history to receive first-team All-Pro honors in each of his first two seasons in the league. He received an overall grade of 88.6 from Pro Football Focus in 2023.

2024

Head coach Robert Saleh named Gardner and D. J. Reed the starting cornerbacks to begin their third consecutive season. On September 9, 2024, Gardner started in the New York Jets' season-opener at the

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and had three combined tackles (one solo), made one pass deflection, and had his first career sack on wide receiver Deebo Samuel for a four–yard loss during a 19–32 loss. In Week 4, he set a season-high with five combined tackles (four solo) during a 9–10 loss against the

. On October 8, 2024, the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh after beginning the season with a 2–3 record and appointed defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich the interim head coach for the remaining 12 games. In Week 13, Gardner made three solo tackles and two pass deflections before exiting in the fourth quarter of a 21–26 loss to the Seattle Seahawks due to a hamstring injury. He subsequently remained inactive for the Jets' 26–32 overtime loss at the

in Week 14. On December 15, 2014, Gardner had five combined tackles (two solo), made two pass deflections, and secured the Jets' 32–25 victory at the

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by intercepting a pass by Mac Jones to wide receiver Parker Washington with only 44 seconds remaining. On January 4, 2025, the Jets officially placed him on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury and he remained inactive as they defeated the Miami Dolphins 32–20 in Week 18. He finished the 2024 NFL season with 49 combined tackles (36 solo), nine pass deflections, one interception, and one sack in 15 games and 15 starts. He received an overall grade of 70.2 from Pro Football Focus, which ranked 47th among 222 qualifying cornerbacks in 2024.

2025

The Jets picked up the fifth-year option on Gardner's contract.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

Gardner is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

.He is currently in a relationship with rapper Ice Spice. Gardner took the nickname "Sauce", from a youth football coach at age six. In 2022, he partnered with the sports bar chain Buffalo Wild Wings to endorse a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce known as "Sauce Sauce".

Notes

References

External links

*
New York Jets bioCincinnati Bearcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Sauce 2000 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportsmen Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School alumni Players of American football from Detroit American football cornerbacks Cincinnati Bearcats football players All-American college football players New York Jets players American Conference Pro Bowl players NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners 21st-century American sportsmen