Chiefs Rumors: Frank Clark latest, Hardman opens up, DE upgrade

Chiefs Rumors: Mecole Hardman details scary 2022 abdominal injury

The Chiefs sent a late-round draft pick to the New York Jets to reunite with Mecole Hardman, who spent the first four years of his career with Kansas City before bolting for NYC in the offseason. Given the, um, limited nature of the Chiefs' WR room, there's a chance for Hardman to quickly establish a significant role given his intimate familiarity with Patrick Mahomes.

Last season was a difficult one for Hardman, who missed the second half of the campaign with an abdominal injury. He returned for the AFC championship game, but quickly re-aggravated the injury. Speaking with reporters after his KC reunion, Hardman opened up about the frightening details of the ordeal, which was officially termed "osteitis pubis," which is the "inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones," per FOX 4 KC.

"Literally every hour it got worse and worse,” Hardman said. “It was scary as hell. But finally the feeling [in my legs] came back. I was in so much pain."

Hardman spent four days in the hospital and lost feeling in his legs for four days. Thankfully, offseason surgery brought about a full recovery and he is back on the football field, symptom-free. The Chiefs will hope Hardman can return to vintage form. In 2021, Hardman caught 59 of 83 targets for 693 yards and two touchdowns.

The scouting report on Hardman is simple: the man is fast. He's a fairly low-volume receiver, but he has the ability to swing the momentum of games with deep catches. Mahomes is better suited than most QBs to finding Hardman far downfield.