Oct 5, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) reacts after making a tackle against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

How Sauce Gardner-Colts Stunner Actually Cost Saints

Originally posted on New Orleans Saints on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Nov 5, 2025 3:41 PM ET

There was a lot of chatter out there about the New Orleans Saints finding a trade partner for cornerback Alontae Taylor as the trade deadline entered its final day.

Reports surfaced, including from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, that New Orleans was looking for a Day 2 pick. Taylor is a very talented corner, but will be a free agent after the season and New Orleans wasn't able to get that return. He's still a member of the franchise and there's at least a chance that the Saints could lose him after the 2025 season without a significant return.

With the trade deadline now behind us, information from behind the scenes has started to come to the surface. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano dropped a column on Wednesday with all of the trade deadline intel they picked up. For Taylor, specifically, Fowler said that if the Indianapolis Colts hadn't acquired Sauce Gardner, Taylor was an option for them.

The Saints had some bad luck on Tuesday

"The Colts targeted Gardner but had contingencies in place at corner," Fowler said. "They were dedicated to land help at a depleted position. One possibility was Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor. The Colts were in the mix on him. One team in the CB market said the Saints were looking for an early Day 3 pick for Taylor, who is a free agent after this season. If the Gardner deal fell through, I believe there was a decent chance Taylor would have been a Colt, allowing him to play more outside while Kenny Moore II manned the slot."

That's some tough luck for New Orleans right there. The NFL trade deadline typically isn't crazy. But, the New York Jets absolutely shocked the football world by dealing Gardner and Quinnen Williams on Tuesday. The Gardner deal, specifically, came out of seemingly nowhere.

The Colts clearly were desperate in their attempt to add a corner, as shown by the fact that they gave up two first-round picks for the All-Pro. The Saints obviously wouldn't have gotten that return, but maybe they could've talked the Colts into that Day 2 pick they were reportedly looking for.

New Orleans completed two trades sending Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks and Trevor Penning to the Los Angeles Chargers, but it could've used more draft picks still and unfortunately was unable to offload Taylor as well.

More NFL: Saints Already Have Rashid Shaheed Replacement

This article first appeared on New Orleans Saints on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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