Chiefs Wide Receiver Misses Practice

The Kansas City Chiefs offense has been consistently excellent through their first eight games of the regular season, but they may have hit a snag this week with one of their top pass catchers. Wide receiver Mecole Hardman missed Wednesday's practice with an abdominal injury. Hardman evidently suffered the injury during the team's Week 9 Sunday Night Football victory over the Tennessee Titans, though he played a typical number of snaps and set season-highs in catches and receiving yards with his six receptions for 79 yards.

Hardman has been one of the most valuable receivers on the Chiefs' top-ranked scoring offense, ranking third on the team in receptions with 25 and second in receiving touchdown with four. Should he be unavailable for Week 10's matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, offseason additions Juju Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling will likely see increased touches.

The Chiefs drafted Hardman 56th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft hoping he might prove a deadly complement to All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill, but he never quite emerged as a star in the league despite a promising rookie season in which he averaged a staggering 13.1 yards per target on 538 receiving yards and six touchdowns. He has carved out a useful if unspectacular role for himself in his 41 appearances with the Chiefs since that first year, managing 37.8 receiving yards per game.
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