The 2023 NFL season has yet to see its respective AFC and NFC championship games be played — let alone the Super Bowl — but in the mind of New York Jets all-world cornerback Sauce Gardner, the free agency window has opened.
On Tuesday morning, Gardner quoted-replied to a Jets-based X account that had simply posted, "Name a Free Agent no one is talking about that the Jets should sign." To no surprise, offense was on the mind of the back-to-back NFL All-Pro. He dropped the names of two wide receivers to spruce up what became a truly inept offense once Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in the Jets' season opener.
Here are the official words from Sauce in his unusually early recruiting process:
Calvin Ridley & Tee https://t.co/cdwueg5T0V
— SAUCE GARDNER (@iamSauceGardner) January 23, 2024
For starters, are players even allowed to say stuff like this before the NFL free agency window for the 2024-25 season is even open? Presumably, the answer is yes. If they aren't, it's safe to say a slew of people — from Gardner's own agent to countless members of the Jets' organization — would have called for a swift and abrupt scrubbing of the post. Alas, the post by Gardner that called for the services of Calvin Ridley and "Tee" Higgins remains on the app.
Provided that Rodgers can come back healthy sooner than later, either one of those two receivers would make for a tremendous addition to the Jets' roster. But one has to wonder how wide receiver Allen Lazard — who is technically signed through the 2027 season and is tight with Rodgers — and youngster Xavier Gipson might feel about a star teammate openly lobbying to bring in players for a position they currently occupy. A bit awkward, no?
On the other hand, there's very little doubt that Sauce's good friend and 2022 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Garrett Wilson, is quietly jumping up and down at the idea of lining up alongside a stud receiver like Ridley or Higgins.
Regardless of where anyone stands, the best part about all of this — outside of Gardner's very public style of recruiting — is that the initial post came from "NYJets_Media," an account with just over 28,000 followers. So, no, we're not exactly talking about a major sports account like ESPN, and that's actually a great thing — one that probably has Jets fans all sorts of fired up.
It not only says that Sauce Gardner is fully invested in being a New York Jet, it also tells us that he's locked in and paying attention to everything. After a disappointing season of epic proportions, that's really all a Jets fan can ask for.
