Sauce

Gardner

He missed about a quarter after heading to the blue medical tent and the locker room. The star cornerback is back for the Jets as they try to hold Minnesota’s offense down in the final six minutes of the game.

He slammed into Quincy Williams on the line of scrimmage, leaving a wide-open Jordan Addison downfield on the play for 26 yards. Gardner seems unlikely to return after spending time in the medical tent. He’ll have an extra day to clear protocol, should he enter it, as the Jets plan to take on the Bills on Monday night next week.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini reported that Saleh mentioned Gardner may travel with opponents’ No. 1 receivers more than last year. It won’t be exclusive, but Gardner is the Jets’ top corner and headed for shadowing duties. He tallied 11 passes defended while earning a first-team All-Pro honor last season. The Jets secondary was one of the best in the league as a whole and with Gardner shadowing top receivers more often in his third season, D.J. Reed and company will cover the rest of the field.

Gardner will return for the Jets defense this week against the Giants after missing one game. It’s a tough development for Tyrod Taylor and the Giants offense, taking on a Jets secondary graded by PFF as the league’s fifth best coverage unit.

Garnder will clear the league’s concussion protocol at some point this week. He missed New York’s Week 6 game because of the brain injury but their Week 7 bye was enough time for him to get back on the practice field. A Jets defense that is on the rise health-wise will be a tall order for Daniel Jones or Tyrod Taylor this week.

Like the Eagles, the Jets are also without two key defensive players. Their secondary will have their hands full with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith with Gardner and Reed both sidelined for this one.

What was initially listed by the team as an illness earlier in the week has now been changed to a concussion. With the Jets set to enter a Week 7 bye, Gardner should have plenty of time to clear concussion protocol to return in Week 8 against the Giants. Also inactive for the Jets in Week 6 is fellow cornerback D.J. Reeder, not ideal with a matchup with the 5-0 Eagles on tap. Michael Carter and Bryce Hall are likely going to be asked to play most of the snaps in the secondary.

It’s not often that illnesses sideline players for a week, so we’d still expect Gardner to suit up in this one. If he doesn’t, however, the duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith could be in for a big day against a Jets. Fantasy managers should be starting Brown and Smith regardless of whether or not Gardner suits up, but his absence would give all Eagles receivers a slight boost.

The Jets are likely being cautious with their shutdown corner the day after he came up gimpy during practice. Reports of Gardner’s ailment vary from quad to hamstring. Either way, the second-year corner will be rested until he’s 100 percent. Head coach Robert Saleh said Gardner would not participate in scrimmages against the Panthers this week. New York’s defense in 2022 was graded by PFF as the league’s third best coverage unit, thanks largely to Gardner.

The No. 4 overall pick, Gardner entered the league as a finished product, operating as a shutdown corner from Day 1. The 22-year-old is arguably already the best corner in the league. There was no question he would take home this year’s DROY honors. Now the question becomes if he will contend for overall Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.