Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner had no trouble finding complimentary things to say about Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers after Wednesday’s joint practice was over, but it wasn’t so easy for him to come up with things to say about Giants quarterback Daniel Jones.
Gardner said, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com, Nabers is “very sudden” on the field and is going to be a “very good player” in the league. His answer to a question about Jones started with a compliment and a recollection of a play from practice before Gardner trailed off.
“He’s a good quarterback, you feel me. I thought I was about to pick him off today . . . he had looked at the last minute to try to throw the checkdown to Wan’Dale [Robinson]. I thought I had the pick, but he kept it. I mean,” Gardner said, via video from multiple reporters.
There were about 10 seconds of awkward silence at that point as Gardner looked around and grinned before finishing his thought.
“The competitive period, it was very competitive. It was great. I had fun out there today. I don’t really know what to say,” Gardner said.
Gardner responded to the video of his comments gaining attention on social media by posting “I said ‘he’s a good quarterback’" and that he got a “lil distracted” before adding a laughing emoji. The Giants will be hoping it won’t be as difficult for them to come up with good things to say about Jones once the regular season is underway.