Sauce Gardner calls out ‘toxic’ fans in Zach Wilson Twitter controversy

Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner did not mean to like that tweet ripping his quarterback, Zach Wilson.

The Jets’ defense performed splendidly on Sunday against the Patriots, holding New England to three points before a punt return touchdown late in the fourth quarter. The offensive side of the ball was a different story, however, as Wilson completed nine of 22 pass attempts for 77 yards.

Wilson was then asked in a postgame press conference if he felt he let the defense down, to which the former second-overall pick succinctly replied, “No.”

A short while after the imbroglio, Gardner — who is the odds-on favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year — liked a critical tweet of Wilson that featured the second-year quarterback nearly throwing an interception while Jets tight end Tyler Conklin was open.

The tweet in question read: “You don’t owe your defense????”

As screengrabs depicting Gardner’s like began to go viral Monday, this year’s fourth overall pick clarified on Twitter that any endorsement of the message was erroneous.

“I swear I didn’t mean to like this tweet. I only found out because yall started tagging me. We gon’ be straight!” Gardner tweeted.

The defensive back added: “If I liked it purposely, I just wouldn’t have said anything. I always mistakenly like tweets on here, but y’all made sure y’all caught this one. Y’all toxic on here [laughing emojis].”

Gardner has since unliked the tweet.

Presuming Wilson remains the starter over Mike White next Sunday, he has a get-right game against a Bears defense that has given up 142 points over the past four weeks — an average of over 35 points per game.

Through seven games this season, Wilson has thrown for 1,279 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions.