Members of the NFL's New York Jets have been heaping criticism on former Jet and current Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman, hinting that he may have leaked the team's playbook.
The drama began when Hardman slammed the Jets' culture, saying they weren't winners and lacked discipline.
Mecole Hardman talks about what went wrong with jet planes. Please listen with interest.
“You guys can't talk to me about winning. I've been to the Super Bowl four times in five years. I know what winning feels like. I know what winning is. …That’s not done right. There’s a helmet on the ground, but there’s no helmet… pic.twitter.com/DbYuYTuPQd
— Aly (Thibodeaux Enthusiast) (@amiablexaly) February 27, 2024
Jets punter Thomas Morstead responded with applause.
“Please be careful when obtaining information from disgruntled former employees,” he tweeted. “Losing out to a rookie free agent who had millions of dollars guaranteed is hard to deal with. Rights take away opportunities. You have to earn it every year.”
Be wary of obtaining information from disgruntled former employees. Losing to a rookie free agent who had millions of dollars guaranteed is tough to deal with. Rights take away opportunities. You have to earn money every year.
— Thomas Morstead (@thomasmorstead) February 28, 2024
Hardman was originally scheduled to be the Jets' punt returner, but his spot was taken over by rookie sensation Xavier Gipson.
The Jets traded Hardman back to the Chiefs, where he spent the first four years of his career before signing with the Jets. (Related article: Chiefs superfan pleads guilty to 11 counts of bank robbery, must return portrait of Mahomes)
An hour after Morstead's tweet, Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner implied that he leaked the Jets' playbook to the Eagles before the Week 6 game, right after Hardman was traded.
“I will not talk about how our offensive game plan was leaked against the Eagles,” Source tweeted, which has now been deleted.
#Jets Sauce Gardner quickly deleted this tweet 🤔
What was he trying to say? pic.twitter.com/FkDyM63DMq
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 28, 2024
Jets tight end Kenny Yeboah seemed to confirm that suspicion when he responded on Twitter to a fan who asked about Hardman.
“He doesn't talk about his own work ethic or how the Georgia Eagles determined our game plan,” Yeboah tweeted.
He's stumbling and not talking about his own work ethic or how the Georgia Eagles decided on our game plan 🤔
— Kenny Yeboah (@Kenny_Yeboah84) February 28, 2024
The Eagles' defense is full of players from Georgia, Hardman's alma mater, including Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Keely Ringo and Nolan Smith.
It feels like Hardman got angry over not getting snaps and forced a trade, throwing his old team under the bus. Say what you like about the Jets' dysfunction, but it's dirty talk and goes against the idea that the NFL is a brotherhood.
If this is true, Hardman is terribly dishonest and has lost a lot of respect from me.
