Colts CB Sauce Gardner To Miss Time

A calf strain sidelined Gardner late last season, and the issue has resurfaced. Another Gardner calf strain is expected to force missed action, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport notes. While this is viewed as a mild strain, Gardner being classified as week-to-week once again — on the same day the GM who acquired him (Chris Ballard) was fired — shines a spotlight on the trade Indy made.

Gardner missed three games due to his previous calf strain, returning in Week 17. He was then held out of the Colts’ Week 18 game, as the team’s losing skid had brought an elimination from playoff contention. Gardner did not miss time during the Colts’ offseason program and has started all six Indy games this year. But he did not finish the team’s Week 6 loss to the Titans.

That seminal defeat dropped the Colts to 2-4, and with Ballard gone, HC Shane Steichen’s future will be considered uncertain. Ballard sent the Jets two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell for Gardner last November. The former No. 4 overall pick has not regained his All-Pro form. The 25-year-old cover man earned his All-Pro accolades in his first two seasons but has been less impressive since.

This season, Gardner is allowing a career-high 107.9 QB rating as the closest defender. His yards-per-target figure is also at a career-high place (10.6) six games into his second Colts season. The Colts have deployed their Gardner-Charvarius Ward duo this year, after both missed time during their half-season stint together in 2025, but Lou Anarumo’s defense still ranks 27th in scoring and 25th in EPA per play. Indy ranks 21st against the pass, which is certainly a disappointment given the capital expended to acquire Gardner (and his $30MM-per-year contract) and Ward’s free agency pact ($18MM AAV).