Football is a physical sport, and the 2024 NFL season made that abundantly clear to the two-time defending Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs. After losing multiple players, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are now dealing with yet another loss.

On Saturday, the Chiefs confirmed that they’ve placed wide receiver Mecole Hardman on Injured Reserve. The announcement came just a day before their Sunday Night Football showdown against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Hardman, 26, suffered a knee injury before Friday’s practice, and it didn’t take long for the team to rule him out. Though the team has yet to provide more details about his injury, it’s safe to say it’s significant enough as the wideout will miss at least the next four games.

Hardman has celebrated Kansas City’s three Super Bowl wins during the Reid-Mahomes era. His biggest contribution came in February, when he caught the game-winning touchdown pass from Mahomes to beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.

Hardman joins list of injuries in Kansas City

Hardman’s absence adds to a long list of injured players at Arrowhead. The former second-round pick, in fact, is the fourth Chiefs wide receiver on IR in the 2024 NFL season.

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Before losing Hardman, Reid and Mahomes had already been playing without Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, Rashee Rice, and Skyy Moore. Apart from missing these wideouts, Kansas City has also seen other pass catchers get injured with multiple tight ends on IR: Jared Wiley, Jody Fortson, and Peyton Hendershot.

Chiefs give Reid, Mahomes an alternative to Hardman

In a corresponding move to replace Hardman, the Chiefs signed wide receiver Nikko Remigio from the practice squad to the active roster. The 25-year-old is in his second year with the Chiefs, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in the 2023 NFL season.