Could Sauce follow his dog’s rule-breaking ways in 2025?

Habitual line-stepping can be taken just one way: as an act of violence.

Count Sauce Gardner‘s dog Rocco as one of the many infamous rule breakers this world has seen—just a notch below Rick James (only when Charlie Murphy was seen hanging around, of course).

On Tuesday, the New York Jets’ stud cornerback showed the world how disrespectful his dog could be. Despite any semblance of permission to do so, Rocco hopped up on the couch, per a video on his official Instagram account (featured after a clip of Sauce’s recent offseason training).

For the less than 1 percent of folks who can’t grasp the sarcasm, Sauce is obviously playing around here. Titling the video as, “He ain’t hearing nothing,” signals how the Jets’ CB1 is playfully messing with his beloved dog.

If I had to guess, Gardner wouldn’t force Rocco off the couch if he had four muddy paws—no matter the level of his habitually line-stepping ways. Had Rocco been screaming curses while stomping out one end of the couch’s armrest, ok then … I could see Sauce becoming a little fired up.

Nevertheless, to put habitual line-stepping into football terms, perhaps Aaron Glenn also belongs in the Super Freak’s category. You better believe this impacts his star corner.

Gardner, 24, is set to enter his fourth professional football season. Already a two-time First-Team All-Pro, arguably the NFL’s best cornerback is fresh off his “worst” season.

Of course, how one defines “worst” in this context is critical.

While Gardner struggled in open-field-tackling situations at times—most of which put him front and center on camera—he still performed brilliantly against the pass. However, even the man himself would admit his 2024 season fell short of what he usually expects from himself.

Just how does Rocco factor into this equation?

For three years, Sauce has played left cornerback religiously. Under Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich, the Jets’ defense rigidly featured Gardner on the left side and D.J. Reed opposite him on the right.

What caused Sauce Gardner’s dip in 2024? (Film Breakdown)

Despite the many fan and media cries that sang the “Sauce should shadow the offense’s WR1” tune, the Jets rarely obliged.

Perhaps new head coach Aaron Glenn thinks differently. Maybe, just maybe, the second-greatest cornerback in Jets history is already drawing up plans to step all over invisible lines habitually.

No, fans shouldn’t expect Gardner to suddenly follow the WR1 all over the field, especially not when Michael Carter II is in the building. MCII is as good as it gets at the position, and the Jets’ slot cornerback role should be viewed as one of the more anticipated ones this season, courtesy of how Glenn directed Brian Branch in Detroit.

At the same time, don’t automatically assume Gardner will line up at LCB on every down. In fact, Glenn has already stated his intent to make this Jets defense a takeaway machine, which means specific tactics could be in play to help that vision come to fruition.

Remember, the great majority of quarterbacks are right-handed. Therefore, throwing interceptions to the left side of the field is more likely since vision is often more compromised when considering human anatomy.

That fundamental idea and Glenn’s pressure-filled scheme should produce a healthy dose of incremental interceptions for No. 1 in Gotham Green.

Maybe, just maybe, Aaron Glenn already has line-stepping plans this coming season for the New York Jets’ stud cornerback, Sauce Gardner. If those plans come to fruition, Rocco will have company in the house … and on the couch … with four muddy paws, two swift feet, and a pair of sticky, theft-driven hands.