Jets' Sauce Gardner blasts Mecole Hardman over comments

New York Jets star cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner blasted former teammate and wide receiver Mecole Hardman during an appearance on "The Pivot" podcast for comments Hardman has made since recording the game-winning touchdown catch for the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII.

"If you really know what it takes to win, you're going make sure you let the team know," Gardner said about Hardman, as shared by Rich Cimini of ESPN. "...The reason he couldn't do that is because he never earned his stripes. He came to the facility and thought he had it made for him. If you know what it takes to win, you're not going to go to practice and drop hella punts and then have excuses as to why you're dropping them. You're not going to go into a special teams meeting and get cussed out by the special teams coordinator. There's just certain things that are not going to happen if you truly know what it takes to win."

Hardman signed with the Jets last offseason but tallied a total of 28 offensive snaps across five games before he was traded to Kansas City, his club from 2019 through the 2022 season, in October. 

While Hardman insisted ahead of Super Bowl LVIII there was "no bad blood" regarding his time with the Jets, he later laughed off the idea that he could return to the organization this spring. 

He also ripped the Jets' culture and suggested coaches didn't "know what to do" after quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the 2023 regular-season opener.

The Jets ultimately finished the campaign at 7-10. 

"You can't really discredit the Jets, especially him individually," Gardner added about Hardman. "They sent you back to a contender team. They sent you back to the Chiefs, and you won the Super Bowl. I feel like that's ungrateful. I feel like he shouldn't have gone on there, talking about the Jets, because he could've just taken the high road. You just won the Super Bowl, and you had the game-winning catch."

Hardman acknowledged last month that he was "checked out" during the final weeks and days of his Jets tenure. 

The 26-year-old is a free agent as of the start of the new league year on Wednesday afternoon, but he won't be sharing a locker room with Gardner again anytime soon.