Chiefs place receiver Mecole Hardman on injured reserve. He’ll miss at least 4 games
Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman’s abdomen illness will cost him more playing time.
The Chiefs announced Thursday that Hardman was placed on injured reserve, meaning he must spend at least four weeks on the reserve/injured list before he is eligible to return to the team’s active 53-player roster.
With that timeline, Hardman will miss Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, followed by matchups against the Los Angeles Rams, Cincinnati Bengals and Denver Broncos. If his recovery goes well, Hardman could return in time for Week 15’s game against the Houston Texans.
Hardman, who didn’t play this past Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, currently has 25 catches for 297 yards and four touchdowns, plus 31 yards and two touchdowns on four carries.
Before missing the Week 10 game against the Jaguars, Hardman scored a touchdown in three straight games.
The fourth-year pro’s absence comes at a time when the Chiefs are also dealing with wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s concussion.
With Hardman out and Smith-Schuster’s status up in the air for Sunday’s game, the Chiefs will rely on Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Justin Watson, Kadarius Toney and rookie Skyy Moore as their primary receivers.
The Chiefs could also elect to use a standard elevation of Marcus Kemp or Cornell Powell from their practice squad to give themselves more depth for Sunday night’s game in Los Angeles.
Hardman’s transaction opens a spot on the Chiefs’ 53-player roster, which they could fill by activating defensive end Frank Clark from the commissioner’s exempt list. Clark returned to practice Wednesday after serving a two-game suspension.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 4:36 PM.
