Throughout the season and his Kansas City Chiefs career, wide receiver Mecole Hardman has been the team’s top deep threat when he’s been healthy. But unfortunately, the Chiefs will not have him in the most important game of the season.
On Monday afternoon, the Chiefs announced that they were officially putting Mecole Hardman on the Injured Reserve list after he suffered an injury during last week’s AFC Championship game victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, activating former starting running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire in his place.
From NFL Now: The #Chiefs activated Clyde Edwards-Helaire, while placing Mecole Hardman on IR. pic.twitter.com/dZ8AjktvSa
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 6, 2023
“Yeah, it was pretty clear that Mecole Hardman had an uphill battle to be able to play in the Super Bowl this Sunday, and now we know that is not going to happen,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport said on the NFL Network. “He’s officially been placed on Injured Reserve, obviously ending his season with one game to go. [He’s] dealing with a pelvic injury, a core muscle injury, then it kind of morphed into something else. So he is going to be out.”
Hardman has been injured much of the season and hadn’t played since early November before returning to the field during last week’s game against the Bengals last week, catching two catches for 10 yards.
He’s a talented player and a crucial loss, and the NFL world had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
Not at all surprising given Reid's comments about Hardman's potential availability for the Super Bowl last week. https://t.co/yJG5u8exgQ
— Tod Palmer (@todpalmer) February 6, 2023
CEH is back. Could provide a different look with Pacheco. But Hardman is done for the year. Tough blow. #ChiefsKingdom https://t.co/prnEMYvwHK
— Vince Lovergine (@Vince_Lovergine) February 6, 2023
Seemed like the most likely move for Hardman, which sucks. It'll be very interesting to see what the Chiefs do at RB. Based on CEH's tweet, it seems like he's been healthy enough to play for a while. https://t.co/melXidhSPh
— Joshua Brisco (@jbbrisco) February 6, 2023
Birds by two scores https://t.co/pqfVUL17VU
— Joe (In Erie) (@FillyJL) February 6, 2023
Its a shame, that this is probably the End for Hardman in Kansas City. https://t.co/yI8pITAWan
— Hendrik (@Hendrik_TTPD) February 6, 2023
Not a surprise, but still a bummer for Mecole Hardman. https://t.co/4Y7V0fAfGf
— KC Chiefs Blog (@KCChiefsBlog) February 6, 2023
Making the situation worse for Hardman and the Chiefs, this could mean that the star receiver has now played his last game with the team as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
