Super Bowl 58 hero Mecole Hardman has a bone to pick with the New York Jets

Highlights

• Mecole Hardman faced betrayal and lack of playing time with the Jets, wanting out quickly.
• Hardman’s decision to leave the Jets led him to reconnect with the Chiefs for playoff success.
• Despite difficulties in New York, Hardman flourished with Kansas City and helped them secure a Super Bowl ring.

While Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Mecole Hardman is most recently remembered for making the game-winning touchdown catch in Super Bowl 58, the 25-year-old finds himself in the headlines once again after opening up about his time with the New York Jets.

Although Hardman’s career seems to be all peaches and cream since returning to Kansas City, he hasn’t always had the easiest path en route to NFL success. Hardman recently appeared on Ryan Clark’s Pivot Podcast, going into great detail surrounding his experience in New York and explaining why he wanted out as quickly as possible.

A Nightmare in New York

Hardman was already in contact with the Chiefs’ GM before leaving the Jets

The Chiefs drafted Hardman in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. The speedy receiver spent four years with the team before signing a one-year, $6.5 million contract to join Aaron Rodgers and the Jets’ offense that was filled with offseason buzz.

While on paper, the move made sense as Hardman was expected to play a bigger role in New York’s offense, everything crashed and burned in the blink of an eye. Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles on the first drive of the season, and Hardman was stuck with Zach Wilson as his gunslinger along with an abundance of internal issues with members of the coaching staff.

The majority of Hardman’s issues with the team stem from a feeling of betrayal.

It’s the lies and the way they handled me. I didn’t like it at all.

Hardman played only 28 snaps throughout his six games with the Jets in 2023, meaning he was on the field only 10% of the time. Sure, losing a hall-of-fame caliber quarterback on the first drive of the season would serve as a major blow to any team, but the Jets’ offense showed little to no signs of bouncing back after the injury.

While the Jets intended for an upgrade at QB in 2023, they also brought in a new offensive coordinator in Nathaniel Hackett. Despite the optimism for change, the Jets finished second to last in the league in terms of yards per game (268.6) and were widely regarded as one of the worst offenses in the league.

The defense has more of a stabilized standard with the coaching staff on that side, so the defense has a standard. But the offense is just like, ‘We’ll just figure it out. It’s Aaron’s show. Let Aaron do what Aaron does.’ Then, when Aaron goes down, it’s like we don’t know what to do.

In five games with New York, Hardman had recorded only one reception for six yards. Compare that to his first stint in Kansas City, where he was averaging roughly 2.6 receptions and 36.6 receiving yards per game, and it’s easy to see why the speedster was aggravated.

As Hardman explained in his podcast appearance, the tipping point for his mentality with the team came in week 4, conveniently when matched up against the Chiefs. Hardman refused to return punts against his former team as he felt he was lied to and misled regarding his role with the special teams unit by special teams coordinator Brant Boyer.

Boyer asked Hardman to step in for Xavier Gipson, who was out with an ankle injury, but Hardman stated he was dealing with a finger injury of his own that made it difficult to catch and felt like he wasn’t given enough time to prepare. Despite head coach Robert Saleh’s attempt to level with Hardman and convince him to return punts, Hardman stated:

I’m not catching for that man (Boyer).

By the time week 4 had come around, Hardman was desperately looking for a way out, and even a potential reunion with two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes. Hardman made a phone call, and the Chiefs acted with urgency to rescue their former receiver from a dire situation.

I was so checked out, like, it was over with. I had already talked to (KC GM Brett) Veach and Pat (Mahomes), like, ‘Come get me.’

While the Jets continued to crash and burn en route to a 7-10 overall record, Hardman would go on to record over 100 receiving yards and one of the most iconic touchdown receptions in Chiefs history. In order to bring back Hardman, Kansas City sent the Jets a sixth-round pick in exchange for Hardman and a seventh-round pick.

At the end of the day, the NFL is a business, and Hardman’s business decision ended with another Super Bowl ring. For the Jets, on the other hand, the team has a long list of offseason tasks if they want to see true improvement in 2024.

Source: The Pivot Podcast

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.