Colts get Sauce Gardner back, but shut down DeForest Buckner
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Stephen HolderDec 26, 2025, 03:51 PM ET
- Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at large. Stephen finished first place in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition, and he is a previous top-10 winner in explanatory journalism in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. He has chronicled the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005-2013 and the Colts since 2013. He has previously worked for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts got mixed injury news Friday, welcoming back star cornerback Sauce Gardner after a three-game absence while also marking the end of Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner‘s season.
Gardner, who landed in Indianapolis after a blockbuster trade in November with the New York Jets, played just two full games with the Colts since his arrival because of a calf injury. That undermined the Colts’ plans to make him a centerpiece of a talented secondary, which has also been without its other primary perimeter cornerback, Charvarius Ward.
After returning to practice this week, Gardner will play on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to coach Shane Steichen.
The news was not as promising with Buckner. He will be placed on season-ending injured reserve after an ill-fated attempt to finish the season. A herniated disk in his neck that landed Buckner on injured reserve in November showed some promise last week, when Buckner was activated and played against the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football.” But Buckner aggravated the injury in that game, Steichen said, and will now require surgery.
Buckner said the disk was pressing on a nerve and left him without upper-body strength on his left side. He knew the delicate nature of the injury made playing risky, but Buckner wanted to try.
“Obviously, I know what’s at stake [for the team], but also I know what’s at stake for me long term in my life,” he said.
Buckner, who has been one of the Colts’ primary leaders since his arrival in 2020, should be able to return next season, Steichen said.
“He’s as good as it gets, tough as it gets,” Steichen said. “Wants to be out there for his team. But hopefully everything will go good; the procedure will be good. Get him healed up for next year.”
