Jets ship WR Hardman back to Chiefs

The Jets are no longer stuck between a rock and a Hardman.

General manager Joe Douglas cut his losses from a mismatched free-agent signing and traded seldom-used receiver Mecole Hardman back to the Chiefs in a deal that includes a swap of 2025 draft picks, The Post confirmed. The Jets acquired a sixthround pick in exchange for Hardman and a seventhrounder.

Hardman, 25, only played 28 offensive and two special teams snaps during the first six weeks of the season. He had one catch for 6 yards.

It was expected that the speedy Hardman would be a bigger part of the offense when he inked a one-year,

$4 million contract in March that included a

$2.5 million signing bonus and incentives for catches, yards and touchdowns that he is nowhere near on pace to earn, according to spotrac.com.

The Jets subsequently signed Aaron Rodgers’ close friend, 13year veteran Randall Cobb, to take the majority of the slot snaps and uncovered undrafted rookie Xavier Gipson, who is deserving of more looks on offense. Gipson also serves as the primary returner. The Chiefs needed to address receiver limitations and still might have to do more to keep pace with other Super

Bowl contenders. Other than All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes is throwing to rookie Rashee Rice, Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Hardman, a second-round pick in 2019, had 151 catches for 2,088 yards and 16 touchdowns through the air over his first four seasons in Kansas City. He also has scored twice on rushes and twice as a returner in his career, but the Jets didn’t use him in either role.

The Chiefs will pay about $1 million to Hardman for the half-season rental before he returns to free agency.