Sauce Gardner addressed his temporary absence in deleted social media post

Aug 12, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Sauce Gardner on Tuesday addressed his temporary absence during “Monday Night Football” in a since-deleted post on X.

Gardner exited his New York Jets’ 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers for nine plays. His absence left fans and ESPN’s announcers wondering about the cornerback’s status and attitude.

ESPN broadcast just said that it is "not a medical issue" and there is "nothing wrong" with #Jets CB Sauce Gardner.

That would mean they benched him? Or sat him?

Why would you take your best corner off the field? That makes zero sense.

— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) September 10, 2024

Gardner said after the game that he had had the wind knocked out of him after tackling Brandon Aiyuk.

“It was a tackle that I made, I just had to get my wind back. I just had to shake back. When I felt like I was good, I went back on the field,” Gardner said after the game.

Gardner also addressed the matter via X Tuesday, though he later deleted his post.

“So let me get this straight, y’all really think I tackled Deebo and was just like ‘man ian (sic) doing that nomore (sic)’ and took myself out the game?😂 Whatever happened was temporary and when it went away, I went back in lol. Simple as that.”

Gardner was probably trying to quiet anyone who questioned his attitude and thought he may have been pouting.

Gardner had 3 tackles and a sack in the loss. The 2022 first-round pick is a two-time All-Pro player.