Sauce Gardner went from last place to first and teammate Quinnen Williams also is on the move in separate blockbuster trades.
The stunning deals by the New York Jets highlighted a flurry of activity ahead of the NFL's trade deadline on Tuesday.
Gardner, a two-time All-Pro cornerback, was sent to the Indianapolis Colts for two first-round draft picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. The Jets will receive the Colts’ first-round selection in 2026 and in 2027.
Williams heads to the Dallas Cowboys for a second-round pick in 2026, a first-round pick in 2027 and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
The Jets will get the better of the Dallas' two firsts in 2027. They acquired a pair of first-rounders when they sent two-time All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to Green Bay before the season.
“Having the opportunity to acquire a talented player like Sauce Gardner was one we did not want to pass on,” Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. “He was a player that we scouted heavily coming out of college and there’s a reason he was the fourth overall pick. Sauce is a proven cornerback. His skill and competitive nature will elevate everyone’s play on the defensive unit. We’re thrilled he’s a Colt. On the same note, AD Mitchell is a great person and a great player. We believe he will have success in New York, and we wish him the best as he enters the next chapter of his career.”
The Cowboys (3-5-1) have the second-worst defense in the NFL and made two moves to bolster that unit. Before getting Williams, the Cowboys acquired linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals for a seventh-round pick.
The Jets are loaded with draft picks after dealing their two best defensive players and need to choose wisely to rebuild a franchise that has the longest active playoff drought in the NFL. They weren't finished making moves, however.
Cornerback Ja’Sir Taylor was acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2028 just before the deadline at 4 p.m. EST. Taylor was a sixth-round pick of the Chargers in 2022 out of Wake Forest.
In other moves, wide receiver Jakobi Meyers was traded to Jacksonville from Las Vegas for draft picks in the fourth and sixth rounds.
The Seattle Seahawks got wideout Rashid Shaheed from the New Orleans Saints for picks in the fourth and fifth rounds.
Edge rusher Joe Tryon-Shoyinka was traded from Cleveland to Chicago for a seventh-round pick.
The Chargers got offensive lineman Trevor Penning from the Saints for a 2027 sixth-round pick.
Gardner, the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022, signed a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension with the Jets in July. He joins the AFC South-leading Colts (7-2) after spending his first 3 1/2 seasons with the losing Jets.
Williams, a three-time Pro Bowl pick and 2022 All-Pro, is signed through 2027 on a contract averaging $24 million per season.
Shaheed goes from the 1-8 Saints to the 6-2 Seahawks, giving Sam Darnold another option along with Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Meyers, who requested a trade, gives the Jaguars (5-3) depth. Travis Hunter will miss at least three more games and Brian Thomas Jr,. Dyami Brown and Tim Patrick are dealing with injuries.
Wilson had requested a trade after his playing time decreased for the Bengals, who have the league's worst defense.
“Some guys have the ability to see a certain key and, at the same time, take a step up in the hole," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan. "He knows how to get in the gaps right now. ... For what we need right now, he can come in immediately and help us at linebacker.”
The reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles were aggressive leading up to the deadline. General manager Howie Roseman added three players to a talented roster to improve the team's chances for a repeat.
Since the Eagles (6-2) last played a game, they acquired edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and cornerbacks Michael Carter II and Jaire Alexander.
Phillips, who came from Miami on Monday for a third-round pick, immediately bolsters the pass rush. The 2021 first-round pick had three sacks in his last five games for the Dolphins. All of Philadelphia’s edge rushers combined have three sacks this season.
"For us, where we are as a team, what we believe is important to win a world championship and to being a great team, it wasn’t a hard trade to make,” Roseman said.
Carter gives the defense a veteran slot cornerback to allow defensive coordinator Vic Fangio more flexibility to use Cooper DeJean outside. Alexander, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition.
The Baltimore Ravens also added an edge rusher, getting Dre’Mont Jones from Tennessee for a conditional fifth-round pick. Jones has 4 1/2 sacks this season so he’s an upgrade for the Ravens (3-5) at a position of need.
Several trades went down last month. The Bengals acquired Joe Flacco. The Rams got cornerback Roger McCreary. Defensive end Keion White went to the 49ers. Safety Kyle Dugger was traded to the Steelers. The Jaguars and Browns swapped cornerbacks Greg Newsome II and Tyson Campbell.
The Chargers added edge Odafe Oweh in a deal that sent safety Alohi Gilman to the Ravens.
AP Pro Football Writers Dennis Waszak, Mark Long, Teresa M. Walker and Schuyler Dixon contributed to this report.
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New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (95), attends an NFL football practice at The Grove in Watford, England, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks (20) and linebacker Jaelan Phillips (15) defend Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson, center, during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Iran fired missiles at Israel and some Gulf nations while explosions could be heard around Tehran and the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday, as the United States prepared to further reinforce its already significant military forces in the Middle East.
As the war that began Feb. 28 was to enter its sixth week, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait warned about incoming missile fire, although it was unclear if anything was struck. Activists reported strikes around Tehran and the central city of Isfahan but it wasn’t immediately clear what was hit.
Iran’s attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing.
Oil prices surged while Asian financial markets rose moderately during cautious trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks.
The largest American aircraft carrier in service sailed out of Split, in Croatia and “remains poised for full mission tasking in support of national objectives in any area of operation,” the Navy’s 6th Fleet announced.
It was unclear where it was going. The USS Abraham Lincoln remains in the Arabian Sea and the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier departed Norfolk on Wednesday to head to the Mideast.
Here is the latest:
Oil prices continued to surge on worries of a prolonged Iran war but the Asian markets that were open Friday rose moderately in cautious trading, while others were closed for the Good Friday holidays.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.
The U.S. only relies on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market.
The situation is very different in Asia. Japan, for example, relies on access to the Strait of Hormuz for much of the nation’s oil import needs and would need to rely on alternative routes. But some analysts say Japan and oher nations are counting on an agreement with Iran to allow transports.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% in Friday morning trading to 52,938.62. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 5,344.41. The Shanghai Composite sank 0.5% to 3,899.57. Trading was closed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India.
Wall Street, where trading is closed Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by a surge in oil prices.
Bangladesh is curtailing office hours and enforcing early closure of malls and shops beginning Friday to handle its energy crisis related to the war.
The country’s cabinet ordered 30% spending cuts for fuel and power at government offices, suspended some staff training and stopped purchases of new vehicles, ships and aircraft. Decorative lighting will not be allowed for celebrations.
Bangladesh, a nation of more than 170 million people, is seeking alternative fuel sources and $2.5 billion in external financing for imports, which account for 95% of its fuel.
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Friday urged motorists getting away for a long weekend during the Easter holiday to fill up in cities because most of the nation’s fuel shortages are in rural areas.
Among 2,400 gas stations in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, 182 had run out of diesel by Friday.
In Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, 76 gas stations were out of diesel. In the remaining states ranked by the most populous first, Queensland had 75 stations without diesel, Western Australia had 37, South Australia had 28 and in Tasmania there were seven.
“For those Australians planning a road trip this weekend, given our shortages are predominantly in rural and regional Australia, it makes sense to fill up in the city to help the country if you can,” Bowen said in Sydney.
The government, which blamed regional shortages on panic buying and distribution problems, is concentrating on delivering fuel to farmers for planting crops.
A painting lies on the floor of a residential building damaged by recent U.S.-Israeli strikes in Fardis, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Journalists from foreign media based in Tehran document damage from U.S.-Israeli strikes in a residential area of the town of Fardis, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Mohammad Qubaisi, 53, with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon undergoes surgery by Dr. Mohammed Ziara, left, and his team, at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A newly constructed bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes Thursday is seen in Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A newly constructed bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes Thursday is seen in Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a U.S. airstrike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A man with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon sits on a bed at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)
