On a recent appearance on Pro Football Talk Live, Sauce Gardner shared how Shane Steichen provided him with his ‘Welcome to the Indianapolis Colts’ moment.
“I remember the first day,” Gardner recalled. “I didn’t expect to tell this story, but I had messed my calf up and I had to be in the training room for 7:00 AM. I get in the training room at like 7:02. I’m like 7:00 AM, 7:02, what’s the difference? I walk in, Coach Shane, he’s like, ‘what’s up Sauce?’ I’m like, what’s good coach?
“Boom. Fast forward to the team meeting after that training room session, Coach said, ‘Sauce, you was late to the training room today, can you tell us why you were late?’ In front of the whole team. Everybody. I was looking, I’m like, so you didn’t want to tell me? Okay. But then I’m like, okay, that was his way of showing me how things are and I had to get with the program.
Gardner continued, “Alright, if 7:00 AM training room, it’s not just it’s the training room, I can get there a couple minutes late, I had to be there around 6:55. It’s like a meeting. It’s a very unique process there.”
The Colts acquired Gardner from the New York Jets prior to the trade deadline. To land Gardner, the Colts parted with two first-round draft picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell.
Unfortunately, a calf injury limited Gardner to only four games with the Colts, but when on the field, he played at a high level.
In those games, Gardner allowed a completion rate of 54%, giving up just 7.3 yards per catch, with three pass breakups. His presence on the field also changed how Lou Anarumo called games, allowing the Colts’ defensive coordinator to be much more aggressive.
Gardner is under contract with the Colts through the 2030 season.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Why Steichen called out Sauce Gardner in front of Colts team
Reporting by Paul Bretl, Colts Wire / Colts Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
