The Buffalo Bills recently announced a list of 12 players signed to reserve/future contracts, a group that includes Mecole Hardman Jr., who won three Super Bowl rings alongside Patrick Mahomes during his five years with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Hardman already spent time with the Bills during the 2025 season, appearing in a couple of games, so he has some familiarity with how the team operates. In 2024, his final season playing with Mahomes, he appeared in 12 games for the Chiefs. He has shown steady availability since 2023, when he split time between the New York Jets and the Chiefs, playing in 11 games that year.
Last season, Hardman didn’t make much of an impact for Buffalo during the regular season, but he did appear in a playoff game, catching one pass that went for a touchdown. Overall, he now has 15 playoff appearances across six postseason trips. That game with the Bills marked the first time he played in a playoff game with a team other than the Chiefs.
What does a player like Hardman Jr. cost?
Last season, the Bills signed Hardman to a $1.17 million contract (Spotrac), a relatively low price for a veteran player. The largest deal of his career came during his rookie contract from 2019–2022, when he signed a four-year, $4.9 million deal.
Hardman’s exit from the Bills came after he was released. He joined the team midway through the season and flashed briefly in limited opportunities, enough to catch the coaches’ attention, but he suffered an injury that slowed his momentum.
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“Hardman first appeared for Buffalo in Week 11 on Nov. 16, when his initial touch went for a 61-yard kickoff return. In the third quarter, he lost a fumble on a punt return and suffered the calf injury that sidelined him for more than a month,” wrote Ryan Miller for the Democrat & Chronicle.
