Chiefs’ Mecole Hardman won’t play vs. Jaguars Saturday after missing another practice
The Chiefs will again be without one of their top wide receivers for the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday that Mecole Hardman (pelvis) missed a third straight day of practice ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
The team later in the afternoon listed Hardman as officially out for the game.
“We backed off just to see if we could get him back going this week,” Reid said earlier Thursday. “And, so he’ll most likely be listed as out going forward.
“But it’s not for a lack of effort; it’s just the injury. He’s working through it.”
Hardman continues to miss time since being activated from the reserve/injured list in late December. The last game in which Hardman appeared was Week 9; he went on injured reserve with an abdominal issue on Nov. 17.
Even without Hardman, the Chiefs are adequately covered at the wide receiver position with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Kadarius Toney, Justin Watson and rookie Skyy Moore.
Moore, who didn’t play in the regular-season finale with a hand injury, practiced the entire week and appears on track to return to action Saturday.
Reid said that defensive end Frank Clark, who was limited in practice this week with a groin injury, had a good week of practice, a sign that Clark could be available to play against the Jaguars.
“He actually feels really good,” Reid said.
Reid didn’t sound optimistic that the Chiefs would activate running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) or tight end Jody Fortson (elbow) from injured reserve in time for Saturday’s game.
“Probably not,” Reid said.
The Chiefs did not assign game designations for Clark and Moore, meaning both players are available for a normal workload.
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 2:40 PM.
