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The NFL investigating an incident in which New York Jets cornerback Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner alleged that New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones hit him in his "private parts," a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio on Monday (September 25).
The alleged incident took place when Jones was getting up from the ground and appeared to bump into Gardner, who then shoved the quarterback, causing him to stumble.
“He reached out to me to get me to help him up,” Gardner said of Jones after Sunday's (September 24) game between the two teams at MetLife Stadium. “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. 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.”
Jones described the interaction as "definitely a physical play," but denied committing any improper actions while speaking to reporters.
On Monday, Gardner shared zoomed out footage of the alleged incident on his X account with the caption, "Posting this so I don't get fined lol."
The Athletic's Dianna Russini also shared a clip of the alleged incident from a closer angle.
"Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner said after the game against the Patriots that Mac Jones hit him in the “private parts.”This video sent from a league source is a closer view," Russini wrote.
Jones was previously accused of attempting to twist Carolina Panthers linebacker Brian Burns' ankle after Burns strip sacked Jones on a play in 2021, which resulted in an ankle sprain.