Andy Reid Casts Doubt on Chiefs Playmaker Returning for AFC Championship
By Jovan Alford
The No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs are one win away from heading back to the Super Bowl and trying to pull off one of the rarest accomplishments in sports, winning three consecutive titles.
The Chiefs defeated the Houston Texans, 23-14 in the divisional round, and will now face the No. 2 seed Buffalo Bills, who took down the No. 3 seed Baltimore Ravens, 27-25 on Sunday in the other AFC divisional round matchup.
It should be a fantastic game as the Chiefs look to get revenge on the Bills, who defeated them in Week 11, 30-21. For Kansas City to be on the right side of the scoreboard this time, they will hope for Patrick Mahomes and the receivers to make a couple of big plays, which didn’t happen against the Texans.
As for the WR spot, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid gave a less-than-stellar injury update on vet Mecole Hardman on Monday.
“We’ll see how that goes. I haven’t made any decisions on that yet. He’s worked so hard to try and get himself back,” Reid said (h/t Charles Goldman of AtoZ Sports).
Chiefs HC Andy Reid on WR Mecole Hardman: "We'll see how that goes. I haven't made any decisions on that yet. He's worked hard to try and get himself back."
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) January 20, 2025
Late last month, the Chiefs head coach told reporters there’s a “chance” for Hardman to return for the playoffs. The 26-year-old receiver was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 7 after suffering a knee injury at practice.
Kansas City designated Hardman to return from injured reserve earlier this month, but the fact that Reid didn’t sound too confident is not a good sign. This season, Hardman has split his time on offense and special teams.
During the regular season, the veteran wide receiver had 12 receptions (14 targets) for 90 yards and a rushing touchdown in 12 games. As for special teams, Hardman was the Chiefs’ primary punt returner, averaging 10.2 yards per return. He also saw some action on kick returns with a 26.4 yards per return average.
Without Hardman on kick and punt return duties, the Chiefs have turned to wide receiver Nikko Remigio, who had a huge 63-yard kick return to open Saturday’s divisional round game against the Texans.
The Chiefs hope that Hardman can return sooner rather than later, but if not, they have the guys in-house to get the job.
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