Sauce Gardner Says Mecole Hardman 'Never Earned His Stripes' with Jets amid Feud

New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner continued his war of words with former teammate Mecole Hardman, calling out the wide receiver's lack of effort.

Gardner said on The Pivot Podcast that Hardman "never earned his stripes."

"He came into the facility and just thought he had it made for him," Gardner said (via The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt). "If you know what it takes to win, you're not going to go to practice and drop hella punts and then have excuses to why you dropping them. You're not going to go in a special teams meeting and get cussed out by the special teams coordinator. Certain things that's not gonna happen if you truly know what it takes to win."

Hardman had a forgettable tenure with the Jets in 2023. He caught just one pass for six yards in six appearances before getting traded to the Kansas City Chiefs last October.

While the 26-year-old wasn't much better in the second half with Kansas City, he hauled in three passes for 57 yards and had the game-winning catch in Super Bowl LVIII.

Hardman's Super Bowl heroics inevitably led to some jokes at the Jets' expense, and his own appearance on The Pivot raised plenty of questions. He laid out his grievances with the team and made his case for why things quickly turned so sour.

While not identifying Hardman by name, Jets punter Thomas Morstead offered a pointed reply.

Gardner went even further when he implied that Hardman had leaked the Jets' offensive game plan to the Philadelphia Eagles before their matchup. SNY's Connor Hughes provided additional context:

Hardman denied the allegation:

The 5'10" pass-catcher is once again a free agent after having only signed a one-year pact with New York last offseason. It's safe to assume a reunion with the Jets won't be on the table.