Thomas Morstead ethers Mecole Hardman with perfect tweet after anti-Jets rant

Despite getting his wish to be cut loose and winning a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, the only thing former NY Jets wide receiver Mecole Hardman has been doing is ripping his former team and calling them a carnival sideshow.

In a scathing podcast interview in which he ripped the Jets for a lack of standards on the offensive side of the ball, decried how much influence Aaron Rodgers has, and continued to take shots at a team that no longer employs him, Hardman had made himself an enemy among Gang Green's faithful.

While those who are against Robert Saleh found Hardman's rant to be emblematic of a coach with no standards and too much deference to Rodgers, one line that upset many was Hardman refusing to return punts for special teams coach Brant Boyer, one of the senior and well-respected members on the team.

Jets punter Thomas Morstead was one of the few Jets players to speak up about Hardman's disgruntled manifesto, and he chose to stand up for the coaching staff. According to Morstead, Hardman is a disgruntled ex-employee with an axe to grind against his old management.

The fan-favorite cautioned Jets fans not to take everything at face value, implying that Hardman was upset he was beaten out by an undrafted rookie in Xavier Gipson after getting paid millions in the offseason. Morstead also hinted that Hardman felt entitled to a bigger role, adding that players have to "earn it every year"

NY Jets punter Thomas Morstead rips Mecole Hardman after spicy comments

Hardman responded to Morstead, saying that he didn't "know the whole story." While there might be more to this that neither party is revealing, the Boyer story and Hardman's attitude have been confirmed by multiple parties, including Mecole himself.

While it's fair to ask why the Jets never even seem to use Hardman as a receiver very often after Rodgers went down, perhaps his performance had something to do with it. He can feel bitter about being misled about his role, but if he was tearing it up in practice, he would have been out there.

Even if Hardman was right about some poor communication from the coaching staff, that doesn't mean he handled it well. Losing a merit-based job to a rookie, sulking about it, and then complaining despite getting your wish afterward is the perfect storm to make Hardman a villain in New York.