Mecole Hardman Jr. had a cryptic response to Robert Saleh’s explanation of what led the Jets to trade the receiver back to Kansas City last week.

Hardman, who had been signed by the Jets during the offseason, had a very uneventful stint in New York making one catch for six yards in five games.

Injuries didn’t help and on Monday, Saleh mentioned the play of Xavier Gipson factoring into the decision-making with Hardman. 

The current Chiefs receiver expressed his opinion on the matter on Monday afternoon. 

Hardman wrote “Hmmmm” in response to Saleh’s explanation along with three face without a mouth emojis on X. 

What exactly Hardman meant by it wasn’t clear. 

The Jets traded the 25-year-old in a deal that included the two teams swapping 2025 draft picks. 

“While [Hardman] was trying to get himself back up to speed and being limited, here comes this undrafted rookie you don’t expect anything from,” Saleh said during a Zoom call on Monday. “But you’re like ‘wow, this guy’s pretty good’ in OTAs. And then in training camp, it’s like ‘man, this guy is really freaking good.’ It’s just an opportunity for us to develop a young guy.

 “… It’s more of a testament to Xavier Gipson. He was able to get some reps because Mecole was still kind of recovering through his injury. And he took it and ran with it and he’s doing a heck of a job.”

Hardman signaled being open to a trade earlier this month, calling his minimized role “very surprising.”

“I do think I can definitely help with some things, being explosive and making things happen,” he told reporters. “That’s definitely my mindset anytime I’m on the field. Whenever that chance presents itself, I’ll make sure I go out there and show that.”

Hardman already seemed to be making an impact for the Chiefs, where he spent the first four seasons of his NFL career, in his first game back over the weekend. 

He had one catch for six yards and a 50-yard punt return in the Chiefs’ 31-17 win over the Chargers on Sunday.