Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner can’t wait to play against the “elite” 49ers

The headline in the Jets' season opener on Monday night will certainly be the return of Aaron Rodgers to the field, but the defense led by two-time All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner will have no easy task slowing down the NFL's second-best offense last season.

“They have a lot of elite people,” Gardner said. “Deebo [Samuel], [Brandon] Ayyuk, [George] coat, [Christian] McCaffrey, [Kyle Juszczyk]. They have people everywhere and [QB] Brock Purdy is very good at getting the ball to his guys. It's going to be great to play against them. NFC champions, so I can't wait.”

Gardner is certainly among the best players at his position. As a rookie, he led the league with 20 pass defenses in the 2022 season and was one of four cornerbacks to allow fewer than 300 yards in coverage last season (Jets nickel Michael Carter II, who signed a contract extension last week, was another). This season, Gardner would like to take the ball away more often.

“That's one of my personal goals,” said Gardner, who has two career interceptions as a rookie. “I just want to continue to get better, one day at a time, one week at a time.”

“Keep doing what you're doing. I'm not trying to do anything differently.”

Gardner can't wait to finally see Rodgers and the Jets' offense in action after an impressive training camp against the green and white defense.

“The offense is trying to say now that they're an offensive organization,” Gardner said. “That's the first time I've heard the offense say that. Aaron just said that, so it's great. As a defense, I like to hear that. As a defense, we always say it's going to continue to be a defensively driven program, but the fact that they can say that too, and rightfully so, is great. It shows we have the mentality to play

complementary football when it comes to offense, defense and special teams.”