Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills have activated wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. from Injured Reserve (IR) ahead of Sunday’s game with the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. Hardman has been out since he injured himself in his Buffalo debut, which came in the Bills’ 44-32 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11.
Hardman, 27, is a seven-year NFL veteran who initially entered the league as a second-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2019 NFL Draft. After making the Pro Bowl as a returner in his rookie season, averaging 9.3 yards per punt return and 26.1 yards per kickoff return that season, Hardman has found himself struggling to fill larger roles. Hardman was also Second-Team All-Pro in his rookie season with the Chiefs.
While with Kansas City, he caught 178 passes for 2,302 yards and 16 touchdowns across six seasons. He spent part of one season with the New York Jets, playing in five games during the 2023 season. He caught just one pass for six yards in that time before he was traded back to Kansas City. This season is the first season of his professional career where he has not appeared in at least one contest for the Chiefs.
Hardman started his Buffalo career off with a bang, netting a 61-yard kickoff return on his first touch wearing a Bills uniform. He was targeted once in that Week 11 game, but he and quarterback Josh Allen failed to connect on a deep pass. Hardman tried to return one punt, but he lost a fumble on that attempt and injured his calf in the process. That calf injury led to his IR stint.
To clear room for Hardman’s return, the Bills placed rookie offensive tackle Chase Lundt on IR Friday. He suffered a knee injury in practice this week. The Bills were carrying 10 offensive linemen with Lundt, but with Tylan Grable’s return earlier this month from IR, they could afford to trim one from the roster.
Buffalo now has seven wide receivers on the 53-man roster. Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Keon Coleman, Brandin Cooks, Gabe Davis, and Tyrell Shavers are the others. For most of this season, the team has gone with five active wideouts on game days. We’ll find out who the inactive player or players will be tomorrow when inactives are finalized at 11:30 a.m. EST.
