Before he caught the game-winning touchdown for the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, wide receiver Mecole Hardman was a New York Jet. After spending the first four years of his career in Kansas City, Hardman signed a one-year, $6.5 million contract with the Jets last offseason, signing on to be one of the top passing-game options for Aaron Rodgers.
Of course, things did not work out that way. Rodgers was injured just four snaps into the Jets’ season, and Hardman did not have anything resembling a full-time role. In six games with New York, he played just 28 offensive snaps — a 10% rate. By the time the Jets played the Chiefs in Week 4, Hardman had played just 16 snaps in three games, including zero in Week 1 against the Bills.
At that point, “I was so checked out, like, it was over with,” Hardman said during an appearance on The Pivot podcast. “I had already talked to (Chiefs general manager Brett) Veach and Pat (Mahomes), like, ‘Come get me.'”
Two weeks later, the Chiefs did exactly that, sending a sixth-round pick to New York for Hardman and a seventh-rounder. As for why he wanted out of New York, Hardman said, “It’s the lies and the way they handled me. I didn’t like it at all.”
Jets general manager Joe Douglas had the opportunity to get New York’s side of the story on the record Wednesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, and he framed Hardman’s situation as having more to do with the emergence of others on the team like undrafted wideout Xavier Gipson. The rookie made a strong opening impression with a 65-yard, game-winning punt return touchdown that give Gang Green a 22-16 overtime win over the Bills in Week 1.
“Look, not to get into any specifics on what Mecole said. I’ll just say we were excited to sign Mecole, he was excited to join our team,” Douglas said, via SportsNet New York. “It was a situation (where) Xavier Gipson really came on for us this year and he…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/new-york-gm-joe-douglas-responds-to-super-bowl-hero-mecole-hardman-admitting-he-was-checked-out-with-jets/
Author : Jared Dubin
Publish date : 2024-02-28 22:14:48
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