Jets Trade WR Mecole Hardman Back to Chiefs, Swap Draft Picks
The New York Jets are trading wide receiver Mecole Hardman back to the Kansas City Chiefs, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
It's a late-round pick swap changing hands between the teams, as the Jets receive a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in return for Hardman and a seventh-round pick in 2025, per Schefter.
Hardman signed one-year deal with the Jets in free agency this offseason, but has rarely been used this season. Now, he returns to Kansas City, where he had previously proven to be a valuable asset to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense, providing big plays thanks to his explosiveness.
For the Jets, it's an opportunity to move up in the late rounds of the 2025 draft in return for a player who clearly wasn't a part of their offensive plan this season or beyond, playing just 28 offensive snaps through the first six weeks of the year.
Hardman has just one reception so far this season, and the emergence of rookie undrafted free agency Xavier Gipson in the return game likely contributed to Hardman being expendable in New York.
