Don’t expect Sauce Gardner and Aaron Rodgers to recreate their viral smoking handshake when the Jets and the Steelers face off in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season.
In an interview with Complex published Tuesday, the star Jets cornerback explained that he and the new Steelers quarterback don’t talk anymore after Rodgers moved on from Gang Green.
“We haven’t been in touch as much,” Gardner said. “At the beginning of the offseason, we were more in touch. I think once there was really a reality that he was going to go to Pittsburgh, we just felt that we didn’t need to talk no more.
“I feel like we seen us having to play each other week one. We really just seen the future — I’m joking about that. But no, we haven’t really talked. We play each other week one. I’m sure we going to talk before that, and it’s going to be a good game.”
It’s unclear if the former teammates had a falling out.
Rodgers passed his physical Saturday and signed officially with the Steelers on a one-year deal worth up to $19.5 million — after telling ESPN’s Pat McAfee his 20th season this fall will likely be his last.
Gardner and Aaron Rodgers became close after Packers traded the four-time NFL MVP quarterback to the Jets ahead of the 2023 season.
They went viral for their handshake, which mimicked them smoking marijuana, while at Jets OTAs in June 2023.
The next month, Gardner gifted Rodgers a chain with his jersey number — eight — in green diamonds.
Rodgers missed almost all of the 2023 season after tearing his Achilles just four plays into Week 1.
He returned last year and played in 17 games, recording 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The former NFL MVP had a busy offseason, including his Jets exit.
While at Steelers minicamp last month, Rodgers told reporters that he had been married “a couple months” when asked about the black ring he had been wearing in the weeks prior.
During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” last week, Rodgers explained that his wife’s identity will remain private. He previously told McAfee in December he was dating a woman named Brittani.
The Jets finished last season with a 5-12 mark and missed the playoffs.
