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Kansas City Chiefs star Mecole Hardman criticized the New York Jets for telling him ‘lies’ before his departure last year, while also criticizing his former team’s offensive setup.
Hardman signed with the Jets in March of last year following the end of his first stint in Kansas City, before being traded back to the Chiefs in October after catching just one pass in five games in New York.
Last week he emphasized that he would not re-sign with them as a free agent this year, before opening up about how he really felt during his time at MetLife Stadium while appearing on The pivot.
‘It’s the lies and the way they treated me. I didn’t like it at all,’ the Chiefs receiver, who scored the winning touchdown in their Super Bowl win this month, said when asked why things didn’t go well for him with the Jets.
Hardman continued to make it very clear that he felt he was as good or better than every WR on the team aside from Garrett Wilson.
Mecole Hardman criticized the New York Jets for telling him ‘lies’ before his departure last year
Hardman caught the game-winning touchdown for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl this month.
The 25-year-old returned to Kansas City in October after seven months in New York.
The 25-year-old only played 28 snaps and had one reception during his short time with the Jets.
He then expanded on how he felt about the offense and the lack of any kind of standard under offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
“A new (offensive) coaching staff just came in and there’s no standard there. Everyone does what they want,” Hardman said.
‘Of course, the defense has a more stabilized standard with the coaching staff on that side, so the defense has a standard. But the offense is like, ‘We’ll just figure it out.’ It’s Aaron’s show. Let Aaron do what Aaron does.’ Then when Aaron goes down, it’s like we don’t know what to do.
Hardman also shed light on his strained relationship with Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer and why he refused to return punts during the Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 25-year-old said Boyer had initially misled him about the punt return job during training camp and didn’t give him time to properly prepare for the role after Xavier Gipson suffered an ankle injury just a few days later. before the game. .
At the time, Hardman himself had been dealing with a hyperextended pinky that made it harder for him to catch the ball in general.
Hardman says his problems were with coordinators Nathaniel Hackett (left) and Brant Boyer (right).
After head coach Robert Saleh tried to convince Hardman to return punts anyway, the receiver told him, “I’m not going to catch that guy (Boyer).”
Hardman was eventually traded back to the Chiefs along with a 2025 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick, after leaving Kansas City for New York on a one-year deal in free agency.
After returning to Kansas City, Hardman took on a much larger role in the offense than he had with the Jets and recorded 14 receptions for 118 yards.
More importantly, he recorded the game-winning touchdown for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers this year to end the season.
“I was so taken aback that it was all over,” Hardman said. “I had already talked to (general manager Brett) Veach and Pat (Mahomes) and said, ‘Come get me.'” Just two weeks later, Hardman was back in the Chiefs jersey.