NFL free agency: Is Mecole Hardman eyeing an NFC North team?

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman could be in line for a big contract in free agency. But he already has eyes on a team with robust Kansas City ties.

The wide receiver market is very shallow this offseason, but that will benefit free agent wide receiver, Mecole Hardman. After his rookie contract ended with the Kansas City Chiefs, Hardman’s speed and scheme versatility will make him a popular target this offseason.

Hardman did miss nine games last year and then landed on IR, but teams’ limited options in free agency will force suitors to look past that.

Hardman is already looking to team up with college teammate and Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields and Hardman played together for the Georgia Bulldogs in 2018, Fields’ lone season with the program. Hardman would enter the NFL draft following that season and blow teams away in the combine. His 4.33 40-time set him apart, and the Chiefs drafted him 56th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Hardman will choose where he plays for the first time in his career, and the link to Fields is hard to ignore. On top of that connection, the Bears general manager Ryan Poles started his front-office career with the Chiefs. He joined the team in 2009 as a Player Personnel Assistant and rose to Executive Director of Player Personnel in 2021. Chicago hired him away from Kansas City in 2022, naming him the seventh general manager in franchise history. Poles was involved in drafting Hardman, so the two already have a connection.

After a struggling passing game with Fields, Chicago must invest more in their receiving corps next season. Spotrac currently projects Hardman signing a four-year deal exceeding $40 million this offseason. That is a deal the Bears could support, with a league-leading $94 million in cap space next year. The Bears spent $9.5 million on the wide receiver position in 2022, ranking as the 26th-lowest in the NFL. Their spending increases to $11 million this season, but that is not nearly enough resources to support a young quarterback.

Hardman tweeting this video could be harmless, meant to stir up social media engagement and get people talking. But the links, fit, and possibility are too hard to ignore. If Hardman goes to the Bears, this will be the big “I told you so” moment.