Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman should still be reveling in winning his third Super Bowl in five seasons and making the game-winning touchdown reception in the team’s 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers last month. For the most part Hardman has enjoyed all the love that’s come with the win and his catch that cemented this Chiefs team as a dynasty.
Did Hardman Give Opponents Jets Game Plan
But not everyone is happy for Hardman, and after the speedy former Georgia Bulldogs wideout made some comments about his short tenure with New York Jets in 2023, Jets All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner seemed to insinuate that Hardman gave opponents the Jets game plan.
In a now deleted post on X, Gardner made some strong accusations towards Hardman, who was reportedly very unhappy during his short stay with the Jets to begin the 2023 season.
“We ain’t gon talk about how our offense game plan got leaked against the Eagles.”
Hardman Defends Himself Against These Serious Accusations
Hearing things like this are never good, it goes back to the integrity of the game, and if Hardman is someone found to have done such a thing he should be dealt with accordingly.
During an appearance on “The Pivot” podcast, Hardman talked about how the Jets offense had “no standard.” On Friday he took to X to deny any wrongdoing.
“It’s the lies and how they handled me. I didn’t like it at all,” he mentioned on during his appearance on podcast. “You can’t do that to a player. A player that you paid at that. … I play one play, oh hell now. Something got to shake, bro, like, what we talking about, bro.”
Hardman was a free agent signing by the Jets for one-year, $4 million. He only played 28 total snaps before he was traded back to the Chiefs in October, the only other team he’s known.
Others Chime In On The Hardman Situation
Gardner wasn’t the only Jets player to call about Hardman for his actions as a teammate until his October trade. Punter Thomas Morestead spoke to what he believed was Hardman’s issue with the team.
“Getting beat out by a rookie free agent after being guaranteed millions of dollars is tough to deal with. Entitlement is a killer of opportunity. You have to earn it every year,” he wrote on X.
ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick had this to say about the controversy while speaking live on “First Take” from the NFL combine.
“For something like this, if this were true, and Andy Reid had any idea about it, I find it very hard to believe that he would invite Mecole Hardman back on his football team.”
Stephen A. Smith took things a little further, claiming that if it is true, Hardman’s career will be over, and he should face legal action.
Hardman denies everything. He just caught the game-winning TD in the Super Bowl. It could be jealous Jets trying to smear his name because he left the team and found Super Bowl glory. Just the rumor of Hardman possibly leaking game plans has Jets GM Joe Douglas on high alert.
“I’ll just say those are comments that definitely resonated with us.”
We shall see.
