Chiefs tight end Blake Bell trending toward return, but Mecole Hardman remains iffy
Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman and tight end Blake Bell are attempting to work their back from respective stints on the NFL’s injured reserve list.
But it sounds like only one of them is making adequate progress toward a possible return for Saturday’s Chiefs home game against the Seattle Seahawks at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
“I feel pretty good about Bell,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday. “Mecole, I’m not sure he’s where he needs to be, but we’ll talk to him and just see.”
Hardman (abdomen) landed on injured reserve Nov. 17 and hasn’t played since Week 9. The fourth-year pro returned to practice last week, but it’s unclear how much work he’s been able to get in, because the Chiefs aren’t required to indicate participation level on daily injury reports while a player remains on injured reserve.
Reid did reveal Hardman has been limited in some capacity on the practice field.
“We had him in a very limited role,” Reid said, “and I want to check with the kid and (head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder) here. And Rick will talk to Mecole, too.”
If Hardman isn’t activated from injured reserve in time for Saturday’s game, the Chiefs should be covered at wide receiver with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Justin Watson and rookie Skyy Moore.
Bell’s potential return from a hip injury would be a definite boost for the Chiefs’ tight ends corps because Jody Fortson (elbow) missed a third straight day of practice and has been ruled out for Saturday’s game.
Bell underwent hip surgery in mid-August and was placed on injured reserve to start the season. The Chiefs on Tuesday designated Bell as “return to practice,” thus opening a 21-day evaluation window in which they must decide whether to activate him or leave him on IR.
If the Chiefs elect to activate Bell, they must make a corresponding roster transaction to free up space on their 53-player roster. If he’s activated, Bell would back up Travis Kelce and Noah Gray.
Meanwhile, defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (illness) missed a third straight practice on Thursday, while defensive end Mike Danna (illness) and safety Deon Bush (illness) returned to work after missing the previous two days.
The Chiefs designated Danna and Bush as questionable for Saturday, and Saunders as doubtful.
If Saunders is unable to play against the Seahawks, the Chiefs would rely on an interior rotation of defensive tackles Chris Jones, Derrick Nnadi and Brandon Williams. The Chiefs also have defensive tackle Danny Shelton available on their practice squad, if needed.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 2:21 PM.
