Mecole Hardman Reveals His Tenure With Jets: ‘No standard there’

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman was a New York Jet before he grabbed the game-winning touchdown for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Hardman played his first four years of professional ball in Kansas City. The previous summer, he inked a one-year, $6.5 million deal with the Jets, where he became one of Aaron Rodgers’ best passing-game options.

Mecole Hardman Reveals His Tenure With Jets: ‘No standard there’

Naturally, that is not how things turned out. Only four plays into the Jets’ season, Rodgers suffered an injury, and Hardman was not even close to playing a full-time role. His just 28 offensive snaps in six games with New York represents a 10% usage rate. Hardman had only played 16 snaps in three games by the time the Jets faced the Chiefs in Week Four.

“There’s no standard there,” Hardman said about the Jets during an appearance on “The Pivot” podcast.

Hardman joined the Jets in March 2023, but in five games, he only had one reception for six yards. Before raising another Lombardi Trophy earlier this month, he was traded back to the Chiefs in October, where he played for the first four years of his career and won two Super Bowls (in 2019 and 2022).

As a free agent going forward, Hardman stated that he has learnt from his experience with the Jets to choose a team where he “can consistently be on the field” over a large salary.

After signing a one-year contract with the Jets in the summer, Hardman was scarcely used; in five games, he had only one reception before returning to Kansas City.

https://twitter.com/MecoleHardman4/status/1762887479344968175

“It’s the lies and the way they handled me. I didn’t like it at all,” said Hardman as he explained why it didn’t work with the Jets. “You can’t do that to a player. A player that you paid at that. … I play one play, oh hell no. Something got to shake bro, like what we talking about bro.”

But some of his harshest comments came about the lack of standards with the team’s offense overall.

“You just got a new [offensive] coaching staff that came in and there’s no standard there. Everybody does what they want to do,” he said. “Granted, 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.”

Does Mecole Hardman play special teams?

In five Jets games, Hardman played a combined total of 29 snaps on offense and special teams. In Week 2, he had just one reception for six yards during a 30-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

What number is Hardman on the Chiefs?

12

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