Mecole Hardman will be hitting the market again in 2024, and the 25-year-old wide receiver is considering every option — well, almost every option.
Hardman, who caught the Super Bowl 58-winning pass for the Chiefs, implied Thursday that he would prefer to return to Kansas City. But he kept his options open, noting: "It might be somewhere else, so we’ll see.”
How about a return to New York, where he started the 2023 season?
“No, I won’t go back to the Jets,” Hardman said on "NFL Total Access."
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Hardman hit free agency in 2023 and signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Jets. He appeared in five games for New York.
In October, the Chiefs traded a 2025 sixth-round pick and a 2025 seventh-rounder to reacquire Hardman. He reunited with the team with which he spent the first four years of his NFL career and ended up winning a third Super Bowl ring.
“It was a roller coaster,” Hardman said of his time with the Jets, the New York Post reported on Feb. 8. “Things definitely didn’t go like I wanted it to go. I guess I just wasn’t on the same page with everybody.
“There’s no bad blood over there. I’m happy for everybody over there. I’m still cool with some of those guys. I wish them the best. I think things happened like it was supposed to.”
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Hardman felt like he and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett didn't get on the same page during the year, he said, adding that he felt Hackett "didn't know how to use me ... or just felt like he didn't need to."
“I don’t know what their thinking was when it came to me and having me on the field or not," Hardman said, per the Post. "There were plays where I could have gone into the game. Was it called? Not really. I think Hackett is a great guy. When it came to me, I don’t know what the thought process was.”
Mecole Hardman stats
Hardman's brief tenure with the Jets did not go as planned. In five games, he caught just one pass for six yards on three targets. He had a total of 28 offensive snaps, plus two on special teams.
As soon as he arrived in Kansas City, Hardman saw more playing time and usage, catching 14 passes for 118 yards in six regular-season games. He saw 125 snaps on offense and 30 on special teams.
In the playoffs, he caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, including three catches for 57 yards and the game-winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. He also had two fumbles against the Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs.
| Year | Age | Tm | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
| 2019 | 21 | KAN | 16 | 41 | 26 | 538 | 6 |
| 2020 | 22 | KAN | 16 | 62 | 41 | 560 | 4 |
| 2021 | 23 | KAN | 17 | 83 | 59 | 693 | 2 |
| 2022 | 24 | KAN | 8 | 34 | 25 | 297 | 4 |
| 2023 | 25 | KAN | 6 | 21 | 14 | 118 | 0 |
| 2023 | 25 | NYJ | 5 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 68 | 244 | 166 | 2212 | 16 |
Mecole Hardman contract
Hardman was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He made the highest earnings on the final year of his rookie contract in 2022, when he earned $3,986,000 from the Chiefs, according to Spotrac.
Hardman then signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Jets that included a $2.5 million signing bonus and $3.58 million guaranteed at signing. The contract featured four void years.
The deal had several incentives attached to the contract. His contract had a per game active bonus of $24,705. The deal also featured the following incentives, per Spotrac:
Receptions
- 50: $125,000
- 60: $250,000
- 70: $500,000
Receiving Yards
- 650: $125,000
- 750: $250,000
- 850: $500,000
Receiving Touchdowns
- 6: $125,000
- 8: $250,000
- 10: $500,000
In total, Hardman caught 15 passes for 124 yards and no touchdowns in the regular season, meaning he came up shy of reaching the incentives listed in his deal.
