Several former members of the New York Jets are back in the NFL.
ESPN’s Stephen Holder revealed on X that the Indianapolis Colts are signing wide receiver Mecole Hardman and punter Thomas Morstead.
“Hardman presumably will compete for playing time with a thin WR room. Morstead is insurance given the injury to punter Rigoberto Sanchez,” Holder posted.
Morstead, 40, has been sitting in the unemployment line waiting for his shot to get back in the NFL. He spent last season on the San Francisco 49ers. Prior to that, Morstead was with the Jets during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, respectively.
The former SMU product entered the NFL in 2009 as the No. 164 overall pick in the fifth round. He spent the first 12 years of his career with the New Orleans Saints, where he won a Super Bowl, was named a Pro Bowler, and earned second-team All-Pro honors.
In 2021, he started bouncing around the league with his first stint on the Jets and then had cups of coffee with the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins.
Morstead is remembered fondly by Jets fans. The same can’t be said for Hardman.
Hardman, 28, was with the Kansas City Chiefs for the first four years of his career. He joined the Jets and Aaron Rodgers in 2023, but it was a complete and utter failure.
After a disappointing handful of games, the Jets traded Hardman back to the Chiefs. Of course, Hardman ended up catching the game-winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl that same season because why wouldn’t he.
Since 2025, Hardman has bounced between the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills.
Thanks, but No Thanks
On Tuesday, October 20, and Wednesday, October 21, the NFL is holding its Fall League Meetings.
“Jets owner Woody Johnson declined to speak with a small group of reporters as he arrived at the NFL owners meetings in Manhattan. He hasn’t spoken to the media since last October at these meetings, where he backed Aaron Glenn and made critical comments about Justin Fields,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini posted on X.
I have many jobs related to the Jets: content creation, podcasting, writing, etc. It helps me when Woody Johnson decides to speak because he always provides content. However, for the betterment of the Jets, it’s probably for the best that he opted against speaking.
Mr. Johnson created plenty of fires last year that the team was forced to deal with. They have enough problems on their own; they don’t need any extra help.
Ex-Jets Train on the Colts
The Colts are collecting former members of the Jets like infinity stones. If you add up players from the 53-man roster and the practice squad, the Colts have six ex-Jets on the team:
- Cornerback Sauce Gardner
- Placekicker Spencer Shrader
- Pass rusher Micheal Clemons
- Wide receiver Mecole Hardman
- Punter Thomas Morstead
- Pass rusher Carl Lawson
The Jets control Indy’s 2027 first-round pick. So naturally, fans will be keeping a close eye on how their season plays out.
Colts Sign a Pair of Former Jets After Rash of Injuries