Former Jets QB blasts Sauce Gardner over latest social media activity

Christian Arnold of the New York Post noted on Monday how New York Jets cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to fire back at those who pointed out he was guilty of a missed tackle during this past Sunday's 31-6 loss at the Arizona Cardinals that dropped the Jets to 3-7 on the season. 

During Wednesday's edition of the WFAN morning show, former Jets quarterback and one-time Most Valuable Player Boomer Esiason offered guidance to Gardner amid the 24-year-old's rough stretch of play. 

"My advice to 'Sauce' Gardner is to put the damn phone down. Put it down," Esiason said, as Ryan Chichester of Audacy shared. "The last two years, everyone is talking about how you’re the best player at your position. So it was two years of adulation and how great you are. All of a sudden, you have a couple bad games and miss some tackles, people go after you, and you want to start fighting people?" 

Esiason's reaction was somewhat related to the fact that Gardner and other young Jets players previously sparked unnecessary drama via social media during what became losing campaigns. Any hope that veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning from the torn Achilles that essentially cost him all of last season would help fix the Jets' culture has all but vanished, and it seems likely that team owner Woody Johnson will move on from both interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich and general manager Joe Douglas this winter. 

Gardner's phone use isn't the reason why what was once an elite defense is now arguably the league's most overrated unit. Nevertheless, Esiason thinks Gardner and others in the team's locker room need to focus more on trying to turn things around than on what reporters and fans say about mistakes made during games. 

"If I were a coach," Esiason added about the Jets, "I would want to be like a school teacher and say, 'Hey guys, can we put the phones in our caddies until after the game, and can we focus?'" 

The Jets will spend the second half of the week on earning a home win against the 4-6 Indianapolis Colts this coming Sunday. As of late Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed New York as a 3.5-point favorite for that contest.