Former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver and return specialist Mecole Hardman made his debut for the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and it was, largely, a performance to forget for the Super Bowl champion.
While Chiefs fans are certainly appreciative of the contributions Hardman made to the team's success during his five-plus years with the franchise, seeing him join the rival Bills certainly ruffled some feathers in Kansas City. It wasn't all bad for Hardman in Week 11. However, when looking at the ex-Chief's opportunities on the field, the negatives outweighed the positives before an injury forced him to miss the remainder of Buffalo's 44-32 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ex-Chief Mecole Hardman's Bills Debut Ends Poorly After Strong Start
Hardman's first touch as a member of the Bills was nearly perfect. After Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead roughly halfway through the first quarter, the Buccaneers kicked the ball off to Buffalo, and Hardman returned it 61 yards to set up the Bills' first touchdown of the day.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill for Hardman from this moment forward. The former Chiefs fan favorite saw one target come his way in the game, which he did not catch. His only other memorable play, for all the wrong reasons, came just minutes into the third quarter as Hardman fumbled the ball after fielding a punt around midfield. Tampa Bay went on to recover the fumble and score, at the time, what was the go-ahead touchdown as the Bucs jumped back in front 26-21 after that sequence kept their drive alive.
Not long thereafter, Hardman was officially ruled out for the remainder of the game after Buffalo's medical team diagnosed him with a calf injury. All in all, this was not the type of debut that the former second-round pick out of the University of Georgia was hoping for, and what his future holds is anything but certain as he is now dealing with a calf injury.
Hardman has had his fair share of injury issues throughout his career, most notably the torn groin he suffered in 2022, which landed him on injured reserve and left him needing offseason surgery, and the sprained thumb he suffered in 2023, which also required surgery and left Hardman needing to miss five games. Now, with him dealing with a calf injury, which can be tricky no matter the sport you're playing, it remains to be seen when he will be healthy enough to step back onto the field.
Should Hardman be forced to miss any period of time, he could find himself back on the free agent market sooner than he expected. Just like the Chiefs, the Bills have Super Bowl aspirations, and their next-man-up mentality would push him aside for the next player on the depth chart.
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