Packers Sign Receiver with Elite Athleticism, Release Mecole Hardman

The Green Bay Packers released receiver Mecole Hardman from the practice squad on Tuesday and replaced him with undrafted rookie Jakobie Keeney-James.

The Packers also promoted offensive tackle Brant Banks from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Green Bay had only 51 players on the roster, so a corresponding roster move did not have to be made.

Hardman was a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs. He had a strong pedigree as a kick returner – especially as a punt returner – but failed to make the 53-man roster during training camp and was not elevated for any of the three games despite the team’s problems in the return game.

Keeney-James was among a large contingent of tryout players on Tuesday. That group included receiver Sam Brown, who spent the end of the offseason and the start of training camp with the Packers before he was released following an ankle injury.

Keeney-James spent five seasons at Eastern Washington, where he caught 61 passes for 825 yards and four touchdowns. He transferred to Massachusetts as a graduate student and caught 50 passes for 839 yards and six touchdowns in 2024. His season was highlighted by a 75-yard touchdown catch against Georgia.

Before this year’s draft, he measured 5-foot-11 1/2 and 190 pounds. He aced all the athletic testing, including a 4.37 in the 40 and a 40.5-inch vertical leap. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.58, his score dinged only by his lack of size.

“I was able to hit that 4.3, that was my goal,” Keeney-James told The Daily Collegian at pro day. “As I was running, it kind of felt like I was flying a little bit. [How] Usain Bolt describes that feeling, I felt that. I was able to kind of lock into that mode and execute it.” 

He compared pro day to being Rocky Balboa.

“I’m a competitor. I wanted to prove not only to myself, but to the world, that I’m one of those ones,” he said. “I’m one of those guys that I’ve always been a sleeper, I’ve always been an underdog. I wanted to prove to the world that I’m one of those guys.”

Keeney-James wasn’t drafted and signed with the Detroit Lions but was released at the end of training camp. He didn’t catch any passes in the preseason and averaged 24.3 yards on three kickoff returns during the Hall of Fame Game.

Keeney-James visited the Hall of Fame when he was a kid. It inspired the rest of his career.

“It was insane to see the history and the culture behind the game, and it kind of allowed me to gravitate toward it,” Keeney-James told The Detroit News. “Once I walked on that field and I'm looking around the stadium and I'm seeing all the names and everything around, it made me realize this is what I want to do with my life. This is what I think God put me on this planet to do.”

A father of two, he counted his father and grandfather among his role models.

“They are both retired military and become teachers,” he told Draft Diamonds. “They have had a major impact with their military careers with my grandpa being Vietnam and my dad receiving a Bronze Star in his deployment in Afghanistan. I’ve been blessed to have them in my lives to help me become the man I am today.” 

The signing of Keeney-James and the release of Hardman represents the churning that’s so frequent on the practice squad, with the constant quest to find the next young talent.

Hardman had shown what he can do. The return game has been the strength of Hardman’s career and it was a shortcoming on the Packers’ roster. While the former second-round pick’s production has waned as a receiver, he’s always been a steady returner. Last season with the Chiefs, he averaged 10.2 yards on 20 punt returns with zero muffs and 26.4 yards on five kickoff returns.

In six NFL seasons, he boasts a 9.2-yard average on punt returns with a touchdown in 2020 and a 23.8-yard average on kickoff returns with a touchdown in 2019, when he was the second-team All-Pro returner as a rookie.

“It’s definitely always part of my game,” Hardman said during minicamp. “I think returning is a unique skill. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to return on some of the big stages and some of the biggest games. When it comes to that, I love that part of it. I’m open to everything – kickoff return, punt return. If that’s something that they would love me to be a part of, I’d love to be a part of it, as well, and I’ll come in with that mindset of trying to do that on special teams as well.

“The more you can do, the better, right? That’s what my mindset is and I’m trying to do everything they need.”

On offense, Hardman has caught 178 passes for 2,302 yards (12.9 average) and 16 touchdowns. He caught 59 passes for the Chiefs in 2021 but only 15 for the Jets and Chiefs in 2023 and 12 for the Chiefs in 2024.

Hardman had a dismal preseason opener against the Jets but finished the preseason with three receptions for 30 yards and a pair of 10-yard punt returns.