More WR Woes: Mecole Hardman Leaves Chiefs Game vs. Buccaneers with Injury

The Kansas City Chiefs have seen another wide receiver leave early for the locker room as Mecole Hardman suffered a shoulder injury on Monday night.

Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman (17) runs for a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images / Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Another Kansas City Chiefs pass catcher has exited a game early, as Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman left the game following a punt return in the first quarter of KC's Monday Night Football showdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Update: At the two-minute warning of the first half, Hardman returned to the game to field a punt. The story continues below as originally published.

Officially ruled questionable due to a right shoulder injury as of the publishing of this story, Hardman's departure exacerbates a familiar problem for Kansas City's offense. Jordan Foote of Kansas City Chiefs On SI provided a quick reaction to Hardman's exit and where it leaves the already decimated unit.

"Before Hardman even left Monday's game, the Chiefs' wide receiver depth was questionable to begin with," Foote wrote. "The team's top two options, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Rashee Rice, are on the shelf with long-term injuries and JuJu Smith-Schuster is missing his second game in a row with a hamstring ailment the team may not have been cautious enough with before it flared up. New trade pickup DeAndre Hopkins is a nice go-to option, but with him still onboarding and first-round pick Xavier Worthy failing to blossom into a premier rookie receiver, Kansas City is absolutely just trying to get by with what it has right now. That's without bringing up Skyy Moore being on injured reserve or Justin Watson disappearing for most of this season so far. If Hardman's shoulder injury is anything serious, the Chiefs will find themselves in an even scarier position with very limited time to react by the time the trade deadline rolls around on Tuesday. The hits just keep on coming for the reigning Super Bowl champs."Chiefs Activate WR Justyn Ross, CB Nic Jones Before Week 9 Game vs. Buccaneers

WR Mecole Hardman is questionable to return with a shoulder injury. pic.twitter.com/E2iINsrVa2

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 5, 2024

Read More: Chiefs Activate WR Justyn Ross, CB Nic Jones Before Week 9 Game vs. Buccaneers