The Kansas City Chiefs are ready to play the Buffalo Bills in an exciting AFC Championship Game, with all eyes on quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen as Andy Reid‘s team aims to become the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl three times in a row.
While the Chiefs head into this game on the back of two consecutive Super Bowl wins and with home field advantage after clinching the No.1 seed in the AFC during the 2024 NFL regular season, the Bills look like a serious threat.
Allen and company were the only ones who beat the Chiefs with Mahomes and their starters this year, which is why the hosts know they must bring their A-game on Sunday. However, Reid may not count on a squad at full strength for this matchup.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Chiefs head coach anticipated that Mecole Hardman’s presence this weekend was uncertain as the wide receiver is coming back from a knee injury: “We’ll see how that goes here. I haven’t made any decisions on that yet. But he’s worked hard to try to get himself back and get going. But we’ll see how all that, how that works out.”
It only took two days for Reid to practically rule out Hardman, with the coach claiming on Wednesday that the wideout will likely not be activated for the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game against the Bills. This means he’ll also be unavailable in the event Kansas City advances to Super Bowl LIX.
What happened to Mecole Hardman?
Hardman has been on the sidelines since Week 14. The 26-year-old was placed on Injured Reserve due to an injury sustained in practice just a few days before the Chiefs’ divisional game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chiefs opened his 21-day practice window on January 1, which left the door open on a late return in the postseason if Kansas City made a deep playoff run. But it turns out that he’ll not make it on time.
While Hardman may not be one of Mahomes‘ favorite pass catchers among the Chiefs’ wide receivers, the quarterback did trust in him during a critical play that proved historic for the franchise.
Super Bowl LVIII hero Hardman ruled out for rest of 2025 NFL playoffs with Chiefs
Hardman caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Mahomes to give Kansas City the upper hand against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. And for that, his name will always be etched into the Chiefs’ history.
The former second-round pick, who has celebrated the Chiefs’ three Super Bowl wins under Reid, still played an important role this season as a return specialist, a role covered by wideout Nikko Remigio during his absence.