In June, the Jets made Sauce Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Less than four months later, they traded him. On Tuesday, G.M. Darren Mougey explained that the $30.1 million-per-year deal was specifically designed to make it easy to move.

The New York Jets stole all the headlines (including ours) by trading away two of their best players in cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, in exchange for a haul of draft...