Jets punter fires back at Chiefs' Mecole Hardman

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

New York Jets punter Thomas Morstead took to social media on Wednesday to address recent comments made by Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

This comes after Hardman’s recent criticism of the Jets (particularly the offense) during his brief time with the team.

According to a report from Christian Arnold of the New York Post, the wideout said that there was “no standard” with Gang Green’s offense last season. Hardman added that when star quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with his Achilles injury in Week 1, the unit was like “we don’t know what to do.”

During an interview with NFL Network’s Andrew Siciliano last week, the one-time Pro Bowl pass-catcher laughed at the idea of potentially returning to the Jets during the upcoming free agency period.

Hardman played four seasons with Kansas City from 2019-2022 to start his career before signing with New York last March. He had only one reception for six yards on three targets across five games with the Jets before being traded back to the Chiefs in October.

The 25-year-old was marginally better when he returned to his original team, registering 14 catches for 118 yards on 21 targets across six regular-season games.

After struggling in Kansas City’s first three playoff games, Hardman more than made up for it in the squad’s Super Bowl LVIII victory against the San Francisco 49ers.

Despite earning only 19 snaps in the contest, he finished with three catches for 57 yards and the game-winning touchdown reception in overtime.

Morstead spent the first 12 years of his career with the New Orleans Saints from 2009-2020, earning one Pro Bowl honor and one Super Bowl ring.

The 37-year-old then split the 2021 campaign between the Atlanta Falcons and Jets and played the 2022 season with the Miami Dolphins, before signing a $1.3 million contract with New York last April.

Thanks in part to the team’s atrocious offense, Morstead led the NFL in both punts (99) and total punt yardage (4,831) in 2023. The number of punts was 25 more than he had ever recorded in a season, the yardage was 1,124 more than his previous career high and his 48.8 yards per punt were the second-most of his career.

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