What Sauce Gardner Trade Means for Chiefs

Well, Kansas City’s November hill just got a lot steeper. Specifically, the Chiefs’ Nov. 23 home game against the Colts (7-2) now includes All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.

Per multiple reports, the Colts are sending two future first-round selections, 2026 and 2027, as well as wide receiver AD Mitchell to the Jets for Gardner.

Significant compensation with Mahomes on horizon

No doubt, Colts general manager Chris Ballard saw something the Bills did against Kansas City on Sunday. Mahomes finished with the lowest completion percentage of his career in the 28-21 loss, and Ballard apparently saw something his team could exploit when Indianapolis (7-2) meets the Chiefs (5-4) in Week 12.

The Colts wanted Gardner so badly – likely influenced by Mahomes and the Chiefs in the future up to two times (including a potential playoff game) -- they made one of the few trades in league history involving two future first-rounders.

The move is incredibly risky for the Colts, not just for the compensation they gave the Jets on Tuesday but also for the compensation they now owe Gardner. The cornerback signed a four-year, $120.4 million extension in July, a contract the Colts inherited.

The first Gardner-Mahomes meeting

Gardner has met Mahomes only once over the cornerback’s three-and-a-half seasons. It was Oct. 1, 2023, at MetLife Stadium. The Chiefs escaped with a 23-20 win and Mahomes had a game similar to the one he had Sunday in Buffalo. He finished 18 of 30 (60.0 percent) for just 203 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Mahomes said after Sunday’s game the team is basically out of mulligans.

“We got to do it now,” he said. “Like, there's no easy game coming up, and there's no more chances that we can really take losses. So, I mean, you got to learn from it fast, and we got to be better as a team offensively. We got to be better, especially some of those big drives we had in the second half.

“And I think we'll just continue to push away and learn on this bye week and then come back and be ready to play our best football coming off of it.”

And while Gardner didn’t pick off Mahomes in the 2023 game, the cornerback helped create those Jets interceptions. Most teams didn’t throw in Gardner’s direction very often that season and the Chiefs were no exception. Kansas City jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the Jets chipped away in the second half.

After Harrison Butker’s short field goal broke a 20-20 tie, Kansas City’s Tershawn Wharton recovered a Zach Wilson fumble. Then, Mahomes systematically drained the final seven-plus minutes off the clock to end the game. Isiah Pacheco finished with 115 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

Gardner and Chiefs safety Bryan Cook were teammates in a stellar defensive secondary at the University of Cincinnati. After the Jets took Gardner fourth overall in 2022, Kansas City selected Cook in the second round (62nd overall). Another Bearcats teammate, cornerback Coby Bryant, went to Seattle in the fourth round.

The second cornerback selected that year, Gardner followed No. 3-overall choice Derek Stingley (Houston Texans). The Chiefs traded up with the Patriots that year to take the third cornerback selected, Trent McDuffie, at No. 21 overall in the first round.