The Green Bay Packers kicked off their preseason on Saturday night with a matchup against the Jets. Unfortunately for the Cheeseheads, the game didn’t go as planned. While some players helped solidify their spots on the roster, others may have significantly hurt their chances.
One player to watch was Mecole Hardman. It’s safe to say he didn’t perform the way he had hoped. With an already crowded wide receiver room, he needed to stand out—but that pressure may have worked against him. After the game, Hardman reflected on what went wrong during his time on the field.
“I just needed to make better decisions. I made two bad decisions, so that’s all on me. It happened fast, so you just want to make something happen. At the end of the day, I’ve just got to make better decisions,” Hardman told the media.
Hardman appeared to be going through a lot emotionally after the game, even posting to social media later that night:
“Mistakes happen but it’s all about how you respond,” Hardman posted.
Saturday’s performance may have seriously jeopardized his shot at making the team. Despite being a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Chiefs, Hardman might have played himself onto the wrong side of the roster bubble.
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“Hardman was already descending the depth chart even before the game, but his performance didn't help matters at all. Chiefs fans will remember well how Hardman would decide to field punts inside the five-yard line, and he did the same for the Packers on a bizarre preseason decision that infuriated Packers faithful. Even worse was the fact that Hardman dropped a pass, when given few opportunities in the first place, and then muffed another punt return opportunity,” Arrowhead Addict’s Matt Conner wrote.
While it’s still early in the preseason and no final decisions have been made, it seems Hardman is in a worse position now than he was just a day earlier. He entered the offseason knowing he had to impress—but on Saturday night, the opposite happened.