The Kansas City Chiefs have brought back wide receiver Mecole Hardman via trade from the New York Jets. He had previously left as a free agent.
In the trade, the Chiefs receive Hardman and a seventh-round pick in the 2025 draft. In return, the Jets receive a sixth-round pick in 2025. Hardman’s return to Kansas City, where he won two Super Bowls, came as no surprise after the past few days, as he was simply in New York didn’t play a role.
Hardman only moved to the Jets in the offseason, but never found a real role in offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s offense. Hardman only played in ten percent of his team’s offensive snaps (28). He saw only three targets for one catch for six yards in five games.
With the Chiefs, however, he should quickly find a more prominent role again, as the team’s previous receiving corps around Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore didn’t start the season particularly well. All three together have so far just 35 receptions for 353 yards and two touchdowns.
Chiefs: Hardman missed the Super Bowl
Hardman was originally a second-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2019 draft and scored seven touchdowns as a rookie, including a kickoff return touchdown. In 2021 he had his best season in the NFL to date with 59 receptions for 693 yards. He then missed eight games of the season with an injury in 2022, but was back for the team’s playoff run and played in the AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He missed the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.
For the 2023 season, he finally signed a one-year contract worth four million dollars, which includes four void years for better cap management in order to spread his signing bonus of 2.5 million dollars over five years. Those amounts remain with the Jets as dead money, while the Chiefs only have to cover the rest of the salary (the total was $1.08 million).