Having lost seven of their first eight games, the New York Jets have very much closed the book on the 2025 NFL season. They are acting accordingly on the trade market as well.
Only hours before the NFL
trade deadline, they made two major moves: cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams — arguably their best two players — were sent to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.
Losing Gardner and Williams is obviously a blow to the team. The former is a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro who at the age of 24 is already one of the league’s better cornerbacks. The latter, meanwhile, has been voted to three Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team and is as disruptive an interior defensive lineman as you will find in the football.
Unsurprisingly, the Jets managed to turn those two into some major assets.
Gardner netted them first-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027 as well as wide receiver AD Mitchell; Williams was turned into a second-round selection in 2026, a 2027 first-rounder and defensive tackle Mazi Smith. Add those draft choices to the team’s existing capital, and they will have five first-rounders and three second-rounders to spend over the next two years.
From a New England Patriots perspective, those trades are good news — at least as far as their 2025 season is concerned. They are still set to go up against their division rivals twice this season, after all, with the first of those matchups set to take place in just nine days.
