Whenever we see any given NFL player sign with a division rival, or with a team soon to square off against that player’s ex-team, there’s often a widespread assumption that said player will give his new team a strategic advantage.
But Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman allegedly took this to another level when he was briefly with the New York Jets this past season.
Prior to catching the winning TD in Super Bowl LVIII, Hardman wore out his welcome quickly in New York. Or as he describes it, the Jets’ lack of an offensive identity and poor communication with him alienated Hardman to the point that he wanted to go back to Kansas City ASAP. That wish was ultimately granted, of course.
But as local SNYtv Jets beat guy Connor Hughes reported, there’s real reason to believe Hardman leaked game plans in advance of the Jets’ games against the Chiefs and the Eagles in Weeks 4 and 6 respectively.
Here are more details from Hughes on Thursday, where he intimates that Jets GM Joe Douglas could investigate Hardman for both tampering charges, and for the alleged game plan leaks:
Jets players have had some rather colorful responses to the Hardman situation.
All of this animosity stems from a recent appearance on Ryan Clark’s The Pivot podcast. Hardman vented about his frustrations with Gang Green and how he literally dialed up Patrick Mahomes and GM Brett Veach, imploring them to bring him back to KC.
Hardman denies the potential for tampering. Based on that clip above, I’d be fascinated to know how the timelines align and how that isn’t tampering.
How cool would that be if the Chiefs were found to be in the wrong and had to forfeit a draft pick? It’d certainly be doing the rest of the NFL a favor, because Kansas City is a full-blown dynasty. A big reason for that is the drafting prowess of Veach, who was the primary advocate for Mahomes even before he rose to the GM seat. Since nailing the bold trade up for Mahomes, Veach has drafted extremely well on defense, headlined by cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed.
Whether or not Hardman leaked the game plans, it’s kind of hilarious that maligned Jets QB Zach Wilson had one of his best starts of the season against the Chiefs in a 23-20 loss. New York also won that Week 6 game against the Eagles 20-14. So even if Hardman was guilty of leaking, it didn’t really hinder the Jets’ ability to stay competitive. That’d probably hurt the team’s case if they wanted to file a grievance with the league office on that particular Hardman issue.
This is all just funny to me. The Jets sound butthurt because they have one of the most chaotic football operations in the sport. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have won three Super Bowls in five years. Everything sounds like par for the course. If Hardman actually leaked those plans, it’s a scumbag move, but it’s so funny at the same time, because it’s such a Jets thing to happen. That’s how bad Nathaniel Hackett is. Hopefully Aaron Rodgers can make that work in 2024. Otherwise, there will be a full-on Gang Green mutiny. Find the full Hardman interview below.
