Sauce Gardner continues feud with Mecole Hardman over tumultuous Jets tenure

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman has made more headlines for his verbal squabbles with the New York Jets than he has for his game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl LVIII. Now, the odd rivalry has another development.

The back-and-forth between Hardman and the Jets began two weeks ago, when Hardman opened up about his time at the Meadowlands during his appearance on "The Pivot" podcast. He painted the Jets as a dysfunctional organization that didn't know how to build a winning culture, while describing negative interactions with the coaching staff after he dropped punts in practice.

Sauce Gardner responds to Mecole Hardman's criticisms of Jets

New York Jets star cornerback Sauce Gardner was taken aback by his former teammate's criticisms and took time to address the disgruntled wide receiver during his own interview with "The Pivot."

"If you really know what it takes to win, you're going to make sure you let the team know," Gardner said. "... The reason he couldn't do that is because he never earned his stripes. He came in the facility and just thought he had it made for him."

The origin of the story traces back to last offseason. Hardman signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Jets after spending the first four seasons of his career in Kansas City. The 26-year-old receiver realized that the grass wasn't always greener on the other side, even if the jerseys were. Hardman's tenure with the Jets lasted just six games — he caught just one pass for six yards in six games before being he was traded back to Kansas City in October.

"You just got a new [offensive] coaching staff that came in and there's no standard there," Hardman said. "Everybody does what they want to do."

Hardman was also upset about being criticized during a special teams meeting after repeated drops in practice.

"He exposed me in front of the whole special teams, like, ‘Look at this bulls--- right here,'" Hardman said. "Showing my drops on the punt return. … Then comes the game and you want me to return punts for you. Nah."

"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," Gardner said in response. "You're not going to go in 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."

Though Hardman continued to struggle with the Chiefs, he reeled in a touchdown pass in overtime to clinch Super Bowl LVIII. The deep-threat specialist is a free agent once again, and he'll likely choose a new team more wisely this time around.