Mecole Hardman Watch continues. Here’s the latest on the Chiefs wide receiver
Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman has continued to practice as he attempts to return from the reserve/injured list.
Hardman (abdomen) was not spotted on the field Thursday during the portion of practice that’s open to the media, but barring a setback he’s considered on track to return for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
It sounds like the Chiefs will want to ease in Hardman, who hasn’t played since Week 9, if he plays Sunday.
“The biggest thing with Mecole is making sure that he’s getting back in the groove,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said Thursday. “Obviously, with him participating in practice, we’re not going to rush things.
“We just want to make sure that he’s good, and then on top of that, we got to get him back in game shape and making sure that he can handle the necessary amount of workload that we want to give him. We’re excited. Obviously, he’s done a heck of a job and we’ll just keep it moving from there. We’ll just take it day by day.”
The Chiefs approach with Hardman’s pending return is in line with other players who recently missed time.
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster didn’t play in Week 11 while recovering from a concussion and played just 29 offensive snaps in his Week 12 return. Wide receiver Kadarius Toney, who missed Weeks 12-14 with a hamstring injury, saw a limited role with just five offensive snaps in his Week 15 return.
Meanwhile, backup offensive lineman Prince Tega Wanogho was to miss practice because of an illness, the Chiefs announced, noting that “everyone else” would be on the practice field.
That meant defensive tackle Khalen Saunders (illness), tight end Noah Gray (shoulder, knee), tackle Andrew Wylie (hip), fullback Michael Burton (groin) and defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi (Achilles) were expected to work in some capacity. That group practiced fully Wednesday.
The Chiefs later in the afternoon listed Saunders, Gray, Wylie, Burton and Nnadi as full participants for a second straight day. afternoon.
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 1:11 PM.
