The NFL is looking into Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner’s claim that Patriots quarterback Mac Jones hit him below the belt on Sunday, NBC Sports reported.
“He reached out to me to get me to help him up. I just moved his hand out of the way. He got up and then came up to me like ‘Good job.’ While he was saying that, he hit me in my private parts,” Gardner said after New York’s 15-10 loss to New England in East Rutherford, N.J.
“I didn’t react like I really wanted to. I definitely wasn’t expecting that. First time for everything, I guess. … He’s trying to prevent me from having kids in the future.”
Video of the interaction posted to social media is inconclusive but does show Gardner reacting to whatever may have transpired by shoving Jones to the ground.
This video surfaced earlier of Sauce Gardner shoving #Patriots QB Mac Jones after the play…
If Mac Jones did indeed hit Sauce Gardner in his “private parts” then this reaction makes sense.pic.twitter.com/zY5kD1FJDO
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 24, 2023
Gardner, 23, was the 2022 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Through three games this season, he has 12 tackles, one pass defensed and one forced fumble.
Jones, 25, is in his third year with the Patriots. He has completed 81 of 125 passes for 748 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions through three starts this season.
–Field Level Media