Super Bowl winning wide receiver teases joining Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears’ offseason work begins in earnest on Monday when teams can begin to negotiate with free agent players and the expectation is that the Bears will hit the ground running as the team holds the most available cap space of any team in the NFL.
The Bears have needs across their entire roster but one of the more pressing desires for the team should be to surround quarterback Justin Fields with playmakers. While the Bears’ trade for wide receiver Chase Claypool in-season was a sign that general manager Ryan Poles may not be high on the free agent class for wide receivers, there is a wide receiver that is high on Fields and the Bears. On Thursday, Hardman took to Twitter to tease the idea of reuniting with Fields and joining the Bears in free agency.
Before Fields became a superstar quarterback at Ohio State, he was first a rookie quarterback with the University of Georgia. That would be where Fields crossed paths with wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr.
The Chicago Bears may once again be turning to the Kansas City Chiefs for wide receiver help.
While Fields may not have the connection with Hardman that he may have with draft prospects and former Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, there is no doubt that the Kansas City Chiefs free agent wide receiver remembers his time with the quarterback in college.
Hardman was on the path to becoming one of the more productive wide receivers in the NFL during his first three seasons with the Chiefs but injuries limited him to only 8 games in 2022. Despite the injuries, Hardman still managed to total 6 touchdowns with 297 receiving yards and 31 rushing yards.
The expectation is that the Chiefs are prepared to let Hardman sign elsewhere and there is no doubt that the Bears should have an interest. The easy narrative for Bears fans would be “here Poles goes again, signing a discarded Chiefs’ wide receiver” but that would be a lazy take. Unlike Byron Pringle, Hardman had success in the Chiefs’ offense and was on the ascend. That is the talent that the Bears need this offseason and given the connections to Fields and Poles, Hardman may be a name to watch next week.