Mecole Hardman’s brief Jets tenure has come to an end.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets are trading Hardman back to the Kansas City Chiefs, his former club, in a swap of late-round draft picks.
Per Schefter, the Jets are sending Hardman and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Chiefs for a 2025 sixth-round pick.
Hardman signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Jets this offseason, and the idea was that he could be a jack-of-all-trades type player who could be used both as a receiver and as a gadget-type player in the run game.
But Hardman, for whatever reason, never saw much playing time with the Jets. He saw the field on just 28 offensive snaps, catching one pass on three targets for six yards. His only catch came back in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Recently, reports surfaced that the Jets were exploring trade possibilities with Hardman, and when head coach Robert Saleh was asked about Hardman’s playing time, he pointed to rookie Xavier Gipson having more of an expanded role on offense.
Hardman, 25, now heads back to Kansas City, where he spent his first four pro seasons while racking up 2,213 yards from scrimmage and 18 offensive touchdowns.