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Jets’ Sauce Gardner Boldly Claims Justin Fields is Aaron Rodgers in Disguise: 'I Did Not Know He Was Capable…'

Originally posted on FirstSportz | By Ishan Misra | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 9:34 AM ET

Sauce Gardner is the latest Jet to rave about the Gang Green’s new quarterback, Justin Fields. The star cornerback believes Fields possesses the potential to achieve stardom like Aaron Rodgers.

The New York Jets made a complete overhaul to their coaching staff after the 5-12 debacle in 2024. Owner Woody Johnson appointed former Jets player and Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as the new head coach.

Glenn’s first major move after taking charge of the Jets was firing Aaron Rodgers as the quarterback. He feared that Rodgers’ star power would overshadow his authority. So, the 41-year-old had to be removed despite showing signs of improvement late in the season.

Fields was brought in as Rodgers’ replacement. The journeyman quarterback spent the last year in Pittsburgh but failed to secure a starting spot. Glenn saw his potential and gave him a two-year deal.

Since then, the Ohio State graduate has received praise from his peers, and the latest to rave was Sauce Gardner.

We got a new dawg in town; we’ve got Justin Fields. He’s a dog. I can just tell that he’s locked in in terms of tape, the playbook, everything. He gets to the facility early, & he’s one of the last ones to leave. He’s really been dialed in.
Sauce Gardner revealed on the Pat McAfee Show

Sauce Gardner with BIG praise for Justin Fields: #Jets

"We got a new dawg in town, we've got Justin Fields. He's a dawg. I can just tell that he's locked in in terms of tape, the playbook, everything. He gets to the facility early, & he's one of the last ones to leave.… pic.twitter.com/qdN7RwP1Od
— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) July 2, 2025

Fields only started six games in 2024. However, he is more or less confirmed to steer the Jets in the new campaign, barring future complications. Aside from Fields, the Jets have veteran Tyrod Taylor, Adrian Martinez , and undrafted rookie Brady Cook on the roster.

Sauce Gardner compares Justin Fields to Aaron Rodgers

The Rodgers experiment failed miserably in New York. He moved to the Big Apple for a change of scenery to lead a very young squad with a young quarterback. The brass wanted Rodgers to train the young guys and create a winning culture.

Unfortunately, the Super Bowl winner missed the entire first season due to a torn Achilles and was out the door after the second.

The job to revitalize the Jets fell on Glenn, who picked Fields as his quarterback. Sauce Gardner realized it was a smart move by the Jets after practicing with the 26-year-old for a couple of months.

He knew Fields as a great athlete with an innate talent for running the football. However, he did not know about Fields’ qualities as a passer until he witnessed him throw during the OTAs and minicamp. It reminded him of a certain star quarterback.

[Justin] made a few throws in OTAs where I was like, ‘YO, I did not know he was capable of making this throw.’ There’s only a certain amount of QBs that can make these throws. I’m talking about his throws being like Aaron Rodgers type of level. He’s always been a talented athlete & QB.
Gardner added

When the Jets played the Steelers last season, coaches had to devise separate tactics to counter Fields because of the stylistic differences between him and veteran Russell Wilson. Fields ended up watching the game from the bench as Wilson was named the starter that day.

Glenn has the liberty to use every bit of Fields’ qualities. He believes there’s still a lot of meat left on his bones.

The Jets got lucky when the NFL announced the schedule for the 2025 season. According to Jets Wire, the Jets’ schedule is ranked the 26th difficult, out of 32. They will kick off the season against Fields’ former team, the Steelers, who recently signed Rodgers as their quarterback.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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