Justin Hardee told Joe Flacco to win a "'ship" for his hometown. Now he has the chance to do the same. (Cleveland Browns)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
One image of the 2023 Browns season has stayed with me. It might have been the highlight of the entire expansion era in Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The scoreboard read Browns 37, Jets 20. Joe Flacco had done it again, ripping off another 300-yard passing game. As music blared, fans and players celebrated the win that clinched a rare Browns playoff berth – only the third in 25 years.
NFL Films cameras captured Flacco’s ex-teammates on the Jets converging and standing in line to congratulate him.
One of them was Justin Hardee, the Jets’ three-time special teams captain, native Clevelander and former Glenville Tarblooder wide receiver. Hardee approached Flacco, hugged him and said into his ear, “You know this is my city, man. Bring my city a ‘ship.”
It was a pure, organic moment that captured what every Cleveland fan was thinking and hoping for at the time.
“It was just me naturally always going for Cleveland, no matter the sport,” Hardee said recently. “I didn’t know all the cameras would catch it.”
Eight months later, Hardee is the one wearing a Browns uniform. Flacco, yesterday’s hero, was not offered a contract by the Browns and signed with the Colts.
“I don’t have any answers for that,” Hardee said.
A special player
Remember that epic Browns’ meltdown against the Jets in the second week of the 2022 season, when they blew a 13-point lead in the final 2 minutes? Hardee had a big hand in that.
Flacco, quarterbacking the Jets, cut the Browns lead to 30-24 with a 66-yard TD pass. And then Hardee made the play that made the comeback more possible.
Playing in his first game in his home-town stadium 12 minutes from where he grew up in Cleveland’s inner city, Hardee recovered the Jets’ onside kick. It was one of the last onside kick recoveries in the NFL.
“That was a big moment for me,” he said.
There aren’t many more plays bigger than that for a career special teamer.
Hardee was one of the Browns’ under-radar free agent signings this year. He’s been a special teams ace for seven NFL seasons – the first four with the Saints and the last three with the Jets. He has averaged 300 snaps on special teams in his career.
“I’ve coached against him for a number of years,” said special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone. “Tough kid, hard worker. You know, I would say he is super competitive. I don’t know if anybody watched the one-on-one drills we did back at the Greenbrier … he does not like to lose, he’s been great for our meeting rooms, he’s vocal, good communicator. I’m really excited to have him.”
Hardee was a four-year receiver at the University of Illinois, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and two master’s in sports management and business. He’s a budding entrepreneur, owning one Papa John’s pizza franchise and considering business interests now in his hometown.
At the same time, Hardee basically has reinvented himself as a football player.
He was converted to defensive back by Saints DB coach Aaron Glenn, who is now the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. Hardee says he has “good days and bad days” as a defensive back and credits cornerbacks coach Brandon Lynch for “being patient with me.”
“When you think of guys who can be role players, guys that have consistency and versatility, the most important thing is going to be our physical violence,” Lynch said. “He’s definitely a physically violent player. And he gives great effort. He gives standard effort, especially when the young guys are being able to see a veteran like that. And then passion. He’s a guy that has swag. He’s a guy that really embodies what we are as Cleveland Browns.”
Hardee savors the gunner role on punts, a 1-v.-2 battle that is one of the toughest – and, some say, worse -- jobs on the football field.
“That’s what I do,” Hardee said. “To me, that’s the best job. I embrace [double teams]. That’s respect. When you get two guys on you all the time, you must be doing something right.
“Every time I’m out there I feel every play is supposed to be mine. I love it because a lot of guys don’t love it.”
Full circle
Hardee always felt he’d wind up playing for his home-town team.
“I knew that I would eventually come here. I didn’t know when. I’m praying that the time is now. But we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
“I didn’t necessarily want to come home at this moment. But I feel God had a bigger plan for me. So just answering to Him. I feel everything happens for a reason.”
Hardee has always won the respect of classmates and teammates. At Ginn Academy, he was voted class president. With the Jets, he was voted to one Pro Bowl and three times special teams captain.
“I do take pride in being a captain,” Hardee said. “I’m the type of guy, I believe I’m one of those guys who will speak up, definitely take the blame. I’m an accountable type of guy.”
And if he would be elected as a captain on his home-town team?
“It definitely would be an honor,” Hardee said. “But it’s not in my control. My goal right now is just to make the 53-man roster. That’s my only focus right now.
“Nothing has ever been just handed to me. I just keep my same mindset, go out there and do it. Obviously, I’ve played against these guys and made some plays. But it’s a new year. I have to prove that I can still be at the top of my game and still bring it.”