Sauce Gardner Trade Was Factor In Retaining Chris Ballard
- The Colts traded significant assets to acquire elite CB Sauce Gardner, signaling faith in QB Daniel Jones' future.
- Colts owner Irsay-Gordon showed no hesitation approving the trade, despite Ballard's mixed resume as GM.
- The trade's success hinges on Gardner's impact and Jones' continued development, with implications for Ballard and Steichen.
INDIANAPOLIS – The execution of such a blockbuster trade this past season was certainly a positive factor for Chris Ballard getting a 10th crack at building the Colts.
Carlie Irsay-Gordon said as much after the 2025 season concluded.
When asked about the franchise-altering move of two first-round picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell for cornerback Sauce Gardner, Irsay-Gordon brought up her appreciation of Ballard attempting something out of the ordinary.
“It’s certainly one of the components, out of many, that we look at,” Irsay-Gordon said of the trade, at the conclusion of the 2025 season. “And like we said, Chris was able to (do) something he’d necessarily done before, and I think we were able to see some progress there.”
Any hesitation in green lighting such a trade?
“No,” the Colts Owner said.
It would be entirely unfair to offer some Sharpie’d grade on the Gardner trade after one season. That’s especially true after a calf injury limited the former All-Pro cornerback to 4 games played (2 full games).
When Gardner was on the field for those 196 defensive snaps, you definitely saw glimpses of what he can do to one side of the field, directly aiding a pass rush needing back-end help.
Anytime you make a trade of such historic proportions—giving up consecutive first-round picks, plus a still to be determined player in Mitchell—the return needs to be immense, particularly in the short term.
But long term?
There were tentacles to that trade extending far past the talent of Gardner, his attractive age/contract and the fact that he plays a premium position where the Colts have routinely struggled to find outside answers.
When Irsay-Gordon had zero hesitancy in saying yes to such a monumental trade, she was indirectly committing to Daniel Jones well past the 2025 season.
The same could be said for Ballard, and perhaps Shane Steichen.
And it’s fair to ask did 2 months of impressive play from Daniel Jones, while also pointing out his unfortunate injury history, mean he’s earned such a franchise commitment from the Colts?
Given Ballard’s resume—0 division titles, 1 playoff win and 2 playoff appearance in 8 years (up to that point)—had he earned the right to execute such a trade, especially when the move itself falls into the positive bucket for job retention?
Again, such a trade is more than just about Gardner, who has already shown his elite quality at the cornerback position.
“I kept asking myself, ‘Look, would we get this guy in the draft?’” Ballard explained of the trade. “’Well, okay, maybe. Get a little luck.’ But you’re talking about a premier guy that’s been to Pro Bowls. He’s 24 years old and the contract was, we thought, advantageous to acquire
“Sauce has got a really bright future and he’s going to be a core piece for us here for a while.”
That is true.
And by pulling off such a trade, that also looped Jones and Ballard/Steichen into the future of the Colts.
For how long though?
