Jets' Sauce Gardner Responds to Critics over 'Temporary' Injury in Deleted Tweet

New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner raised some eyebrows when he sat out a few plays in Monday night's game against the San Francisco 49ers, but he took to social media to declare that things are being blown out of proportion.

Gardner, who told reporters after the Jets' 32-19 loss that he had the wind knocked out of him after tackling 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, reiterated his stance and fired back at those questioning his sincerity in a now-deleted tweet that read:

"So let me get this straight, y'all really think I tackled Deebo and was just like "man ian doing that nomore" 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 on the sidelines for a bit during the second quarter, but the Jets told ESPN's Lisa Salters that his absence from the field was not injury-related. 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy took advantage of the two-time All-Pro sitting out by completing six straight passes to move San Francisco into field goal position.

After the game, Gardner explained his absence by telling reporters, "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 finished with three tackles and a sack in Monday's loss. The 49ers totaled 401 yards of offense against a Jets defense that was thought to be among the best units in the NFL.

In addition to New York's struggles on defense, the team also had a hard time finding consistency and moving the ball on offense. Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was playing in his first game since suffering a torn Achilles in the 2023 season opener, finished with 167 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 13-of-21 passing.

There's still a lot of time for the Jets to work the kinks out and fulfill their expectations of being a championship-caliber team. New York will try to get back on track when it faces the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.