Jets' GM had heart-warming request before finalizing Sauce Gardner trade

Charlie Baduini

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Jets' GM had heart-warming request before finalizing Sauce Gardner trade image

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The New York Jets shocked the NFL world when they shipped All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts at the trade deadline, netting two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported that the groundwork for the trade began being laid around mid-October, before being finalized the morning of the trade deadline.

But Jets general manager Darren Mougey had one request for his counterpart in Indianapolis, Chris Ballard, before the deal was made official.

Darren Mougey asked Chris Ballard to hold off for an hour over Nick Mangold's funeral

According to Breer, after both teams agreed to terms on the Gardner trade, Mougey requested that Ballard keep the deal under wraps for just a few more hours out of respect for the funeral of Nick Mangold, the Jets franchise legend who had sadly passed away from kidney disease.

"The GM was headed for Nick Mangold’s funeral in the New Jersey suburbs later in the morning. He knew that the service would be filled with Jets people, both past and present, and the last thing he wanted was for everyone paying their respects to the beloved former New York center to have their phones buzzing in church," wrote Breer.

"So he asked Ballard to keep their agreement under wraps for just a few more hours. Ballard quickly pledged to Mougey that he would."

In what was pure class from both general managers, the news was held until after Mangold's services had concluded.

The longtime center's funeral featured many former and current Jets figures, and the reaction to the blockbuster may have taken some of the attention away from the more important moment.

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