Mecole Hardman rips into Jets, opens Chiefs to potential tampering investigation

Henry McKenna

AFC East Reporter

The Kansas City Chiefs are no doubt glad to have acquired Mecole Hardman, who caught the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII after joining the team in a midseason trade.

But this offseason, he might be a headache for Kansas City.

Hardman joined “The Pivot Podcast” for a wide-ranging interview, and the receiver spoke extensively about his time with the New York Jets. They signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal last offseason after his underwhelming first four years with the Chiefs. But not long after New York added Hardman, the two sides were unhappy. 

Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending injury on opening night made for widespread dysfunction within the Jets organization, including for the team’s pass-catchers. But Hardman seemed like a particularly bad match for New York. Undrafted rookie Xavier Gipson passed him on the depth chart, and Hardman was largely a non-factor on offense. When the relationship fell apart beyond repair, the Jets traded him back to the Chiefs. 

But before that? It sounds like — behind the scenes — Hardman might have touched base with Kansas City.

“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,'” Hardman said during his appearance on “The Pivot.” 

That sounds a lot like tampering.

Per the NFL’s policy: “The term tampering, as used within the National Football League, refers to any interference by a member club with the employer-employee relationship of another club or any attempt by a club to impermissibly induce a person to seek employment with that club or with the NFL.”

In other words: So long as Hardman was a Jet, he wasn’t allowed to speak with Veach or Mahomes about playing for the Chiefs.

Prior to making those comments in the conversation with Ryan Clark and Channing Crowder, Hardman told the story of when his frustration reached a peak with the Jets. During a…

Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/mecole-hardman-rips-into-jets-opens-chiefs-to-potential-tampering-investigation

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Publish date : 2024-02-28 20:55:22

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