Mecole Hardman Speaks on Whether Chiefs Tried to Retain Him
The Kansas City Chiefs have lost a couple of key contributing wide receivers to free agency this offseason, with both players heading for the AFC East. JuJu Smith-Schuster is now a member of the New England Patriots, and Mecole Hardman got introduced as a signing for the New York Jets on Friday.
For Hardman, he was expected to have a competitive market but ultimately signed up for a one-year deal that carries a maximum potential value of $6.5 million. He'll spend his 2023 campaign catching passes from Aaron Rodgers if New York completes its widely-expected trade with the Green Bay Packers, which isn't a certainty but should come to fruition at some point during the offseason. Hardman officially left Kansas City after being drafted in the second round back in 2019 and spending his first four seasons with the team, winning a pair of Super Bowls in the process.
In his introductory presser with the Jets, Hardman was asked about whether the Chiefs attempted to re-sign him or not. Despite the 25-year-old hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent, Kansas City had every opportunity to pursue a new contract with him if the organization so desired. Hardman (in the clip below) said that he wasn't sure what the final situation was with the Chiefs, admitting that he didn't know the exact details regarding a contract and also stating that if the team did make an offer to him, it wasn't something his camp was set to take seriously. Here's the full quote:
"Um... honestly I don't know. I don't know if they offered anything worth talking about or if they just were moving on. I don't really know the exact details. I'm pretty sure they probably offered something but if they did, it probably wasn't nothing that my agents and them thought to consider."
Hardman provides quite a bit to unpack, as his uncertainty about the Chiefs' side of his free agency leaves the door open for plenty of interpretation. Agents should disclose all offers to their players regardless of compensation, timing or structure, and Hardman saying that he doesn't know if the Chiefs submitted a bid for his services raises questions as to whether the ultimate answer is actually just a simple "no."
If Kansas City did make an offer to Hardman's representation, it almost surely wasn't for the same amount of money New York ended up inking him for. The Chiefs' pattern of not spending at wide receiver thus far in the offseason is consistent, although it isn't as if the team couldn't have afforded Hardman or even Smith-Schuster for another year-plus. Not retaining either or both was an active decision and for Hardman's sake, he'll now look to expand his offensive role on a Jets squad aiming for the playoffs in 2023-24.
