The “Sauce Gardner, cornerback, No. 20” era was short-lived in the land of New York Jets football. After donning a No. 20 jersey for a few days at rookie minicamp, Gardner quickly switched back to the signature No. 1 that he wore at the University of Cincinnati.
Gardner’s preferred digit previously belonged to fellow cornerback D.J. Reed, a free-agent acquisition via the Seattle Seahawks. Reed switched to a No. 4 jersey to open up the No. 1 for Sauce.
Fans assumed that the fourth overall pick must have paid his veteran teammate a hefty chunk of change to facilitate the swap – and they were right.