Getty

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Buffalo Bills failed to improve their group of skill-position players around quarterback Josh Allen at the trade deadline, which led to a roster move Monday.

Coming off an embarrassing blowout defeat to the Miami Dolphins in South Florida in Week 10, Buffalo inked long-time Chiefs wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Mecole Hardman on November 10.

“Bills are signing wide receiver Mecole Hardman to the practice squad, per source,” Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported via social media.

Hardman, 27 years old, is a seven-year veteran of the NFL. He began his career in Kansas City as a second-round pick (No. 56 overall) out of Georgia in the 2019 draft.

He earned a Pro Bowl nod and second-team All-Pro honors as a kick returner during his rookie campaign while also catching 26 passes for 538 yards and six touchdowns.

Hardman played another three full seasons for the Chiefs before leaving to join the New York Jets via free agency in 2023 on a one-year deal worth $4 million after injuries cost him nine regular-season games the campaign prior.

However, the wideout played just five games in New York before the Jets traded him back to Kansas City along with a seventh-round draft pick in return for a sixth-rounder from the Chiefs. Hardman appeared in six outings for Kansas City in 2023 and 12 contests for the franchise last season, but caught a total of just 26 passes for 208 yards across that 18-game stretch.

He inked a deal with the Green Bay Packers‘ practice squad in August and hasn’t yet seen the field in 2025, though that could change in Buffalo given the team’s lack of playmaking at the wide receiver position.

Chiefs Face Tough Schedule Coming Out of Bye Week

GettyKansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

While the Bills’ were dropping a game to the Dolphins by 17 points on the road in Week 10 following their seven-point defeat of the Chiefs in Buffalo the week prior, Kansas City was enjoying its bye and gearing up for a difficult stretch upon the team’s return to action this Sunday.

The Chiefs, now 5-4 after the Bills snapped their three-game win streak, have to go on the road to take on the Denver Broncos (8-2) in the first of two matchups remaining against their AFC West Division rival.

The Broncos are tied with the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots for the best record in the league through 10 weeks, and the Chiefs will host the Colts following their showdown in Denver this coming weekend.

“We gotta be more consistent as a team, I gotta be more consistent at quarterback,” Mahomes said following his team’s loss in Buffalo. “And it’s gonna be an uphill battle when we get back, but I think our guys are up to it.”

Chiefs Also Chose Not to Add Talent at Positions of Need Ahead of Trade Deadline

GettyNew York Jets running back Breece Hall.

Like Buffalo, Kansas City was also surprisingly quiet at the trade deadline despite legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

The Chiefs could have used help in the offensive backfield, where a banged up Isiah Pacheco and a past-his-prime Kareem Hunt are splitting the workload. And the team was in on a potential trade for New York Jets running back Breece Hall, though that deal ended up falling through over the price.

The Jets were asking for a third-round pick in return for Hall, who will be a free agent next March, while the Chiefs weren’t willing to go higher than a fourth-round asset. Kansas City also stood pat despite needs along the defensive line and questions on the offensive line heading into the second half of the season.

Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible

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