Kansas City Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman may miss Super Bowl LVII: What Andy Reid said
The Chiefs are looking forward to matching up against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.
But their plans aren’t likely to include wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who aggravated a pelvis injury in the AFC Championship Game.
“I think it will be tough for him,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Thursday. “I mean, I doubt that he’ll make the Super Bowl.”
Hardman, who didn’t practice Thursday, originally suffered the injury in Week 9 of the regular season before landing on the reserve/injured list. The Chiefs activated him in late December, but Hardman didn’t play in the regular-season finale or AFC Divisional Round.
The fourth-year wide receiver made his return against the Cincinnati Bengals in last Sunday’s conference-title game but left early in the second half after aggravating the injury. He finished the game with 17 total yards (10 receiving) on 15 offensive snaps.
“He was not going to be denied the other day,” Reid said. “It’s a tribute to the kid. He pushed himself like no other and he’s a tough nut. He’s all smiles with you, but when it comes down to playing, he is a tough, tough kid.”
The Chiefs didn’t have cornerback L’Jarius Sneed (concussion) or wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Kadarius Toney (ankle, hamstring) on the practice field Thursday, either.
Reid sounded optimistic that Toney would return to on-field work sooner than later.
“He’s close and doing well,” Reid said. “He actually did the walk-through today (Thursday).”
Later in the afternoon, Smith-Schuster and Toney were observed standing on the sideline during the portion of practice that was open to the media. Sneed was observed going through stretching and conditioning.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, however, practiced fully. Mahomes said he felt fine, aside from some general soreness after playing the in the AFC Championship Game less than a week after suffering a right high-ankle sprain.
“I feel like I’m in a good spot,” Mahomes said.
Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) was also on the practice field. Edwards-Helaire, whom the Chiefs designated as “return to practice” two weeks ago, remains on injured reserve.
The Chiefs later designated Mahomes, running back Isiah Pacheco (wrist), running back Jerick McKinnon (ankles), right guard Trey Smith (ankle) and wide receiver Justin Watson (illness) as full participants in practice. Linebacker Willie Gay Jr. (shoulder) was limited.
This story was originally published February 2, 2023 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Kansas City Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman may miss Super Bowl LVII: What Andy Reid said."
