FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets enter the season without cornerback Sauce Gardner after trading him to the Indianapolis Colts four months after signing him to a four-year, $120.4 million contract that made him the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. The deal returned a 2026 first-round pick (tight end Kenyon Sadiq), a 2027 first-rounder and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and has left questions about the back end of New York’s defense.
The club has used free agency, the draft and trades to assemble a new starting group, headlined by the addition of former All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick is a three-time first-team All-Pro who totaled 16 interceptions across the 2019, 2020 and 2022 seasons, but he has just two interceptions in the past three years. The Jets signed him to a three-year, $40 million contract after acquiring him in a trade with the Miami Dolphins; his average of $13.3 million per year ranks 13th among safeties.
Interceptions remain a central concern. New York became the first team in modern NFL history to complete a season without a defensive interception. Cornerback Brandon Stephens called that drought “the elephant in the room,” and said players are taking it personally as they seek to “rewrite the story.” Gardner, meanwhile, had only three interceptions in 55 games with the Jets.
Stephens, a 2025 free-agent signing from the Baltimore Ravens, provides stability in the group. He finished 37th among 75 qualifying corners in yards allowed per coverage snap (1.1), per Next Gen Stats; the league average was 1.1. The projected starter opposite Stephens is newcomer Nahshon Wright, who broke out with five interceptions last season for the Chicago Bears after recording one over his first four seasons.
Wright’s five picks carried caveats: three came against young, struggling quarterbacks and another came on an end-of-half Hail Mary, and his yards allowed per coverage snap (1.3) ranked 54th, per Next Gen Stats. Competition for the role includes Azareye’h Thomas and 2026 second-round pick D’Angelo Ponds. Ponds, listed at 5-foot-8, worked inside and outside during OTAs and minicamp and could emerge as a nickel option, though Jarvis Brownlee Jr. is the current favorite for that slot.
The Jets say they will try to be creative with Fitzpatrick’s deployment, allowing him to line up in multiple spots as the rebuilt secondary looks to establish cohesion and produce turnovers after last season’s drought.
