Mecole Hardman’s rise to stardom may have started when he caught the Super Bowl-winning touchdown for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he didn’t need to introduce himself to New York Jets fans.
Hardman has since run the talk show circuit and appeared at the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game, each event leaving the beginning of the season further out of the rearview mirror.
His season, of course, began with the Jets. Fans probably shouldn’t expect the same in 2024.
Hardman is a free agent, having just completed the one-year, $4 million deal New York gave him. Before the new league year, Hardman took his talents to NFL Network, where he spoke about his impending free agency and the possibility of running it back with the Chiefs.
“Right now you’re just hearing talk and see what’s going on, ideas, and then you probably get a better idea what as the week goes on,” Hardman said. “But whenever free agency starts, you don’t know. We’ll just see if they want me back. If not, it might be somewhere else. So we’ll see.”
That “somewhere else” won’t be New York, especially as long as offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is still in the building.
“No, I won’t go back to the Jets,” Hardman joked.
Hardman and Hackett weren’t a match, especially after quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down on the Jets’ first drive of the season. He would appear in five games for New York, catching a six-yard pass and seeing just three targets.
Hardman quickly found himself out of the fold and into trade talks, eventually being dealt to Kansas City for a swap of late-round picks. The Jets, meanwhile, continue to search for ancillary weapons to support Rodgers’ quest for a Super Bowl.
With a bump in cap space and the promise of a healthy quarterback, general manager Joe Douglas will look to improve upon last year’s free agent class.
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