Mecole Hardman began the 2023-24 season with the New York Jets, later being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs and playing a role in the team’s Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He spoke about what led up to the trade back to the Chiefs and may have implicated himself and the Chiefs for potential tampering violations in the process.
Hardman appeared on the The Pivot podcast with ESPN’s Ryan Clark, where he admitted that at one point while on the Jets he reached out to Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, telling them to “come get me”.
“I was so checked out, like, it was over with,” said Hardman. “I had already talked to (Brett) Veach and Pat (Mahomes), like, ‘Come get me’.
Hardman was traded to the Chiefs just two weeks after this conversation, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Former Jets WR/Super Bowl hero Mecole Hardman, appearing on @Realrclark25's Pivot podcast, shed some light on what led to his trade from the Jets. For instance:
* Hardman said he refused to return punts vs KC because he felt STC Brant Boyer had misled him about the…
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) February 27, 2024
According to the NFL tampering policy, teams that are contacted by players under contract with another team are barred from discussing general terms of the player’s possible employment with the contacted club.
Based on what Hardman detailed about the call with Veach and Mahomes, it certainly sounds like this qualifies for “possible employment” talks.
Fans took notice of this comment from Hardman and believe that this is absolutely a violation of the tampering policy.
– nearly lose your team a playoff game
– win your team the Super Bowl
– implicate your team in some light tamperingis such an insane character arc. in a month! https://t.co/EXEw8SQNu8
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) February 27, 2024
admitted the chiefs illegally tampered. Revoke the title https://t.co/RkV1fHDiKH
— Burrow to Chase
(@DawgsAndBengals) February 28, 2024
(@DawgsAndBengals) So just blatantly admitting to tampering? https://t.co/fIMjzg1p2r
— MileHighGreco (@MileHighGreco) February 28, 2024
Isn’t that tampering ? GM speaking to an player on another team https://t.co/oiKZ4Q6KNM
— Reptar (@NYJReptar) February 27, 2024
You can’t do that…
https://t.co/5Qb0v5Xhfz pic.twitter.com/hPRfXb7OJ1
— Aaron Quinn (@AaronQuinn716) February 27, 2024
It’s understandable to hear that Hardman was upset about his role on a struggling Jets team early on in the year. But it may not have been the most wise decision to speak about it in this much detail.
The deal obviously paid off for the Chiefs, as Hardman ended up playing the role of the hero in Super Bowl LVIII, catching the game-winning touchdown to solidify the win for Kansas City in overtime.
However, Hardman’s comments on the matter could very well come at the cost of a draft pick in either the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft or a future pick if the NFL does end up investigating the situation.
[The Pivot Podcast, Rich Cimini on Twitter/X]
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