Chiefs provide injury updates on Mecole Hardman, Kadarius Toney

The Kansas City Chiefs are bracing for the return of two of their most important weapons as they begin preparation for the Houston Texans.

First, in his initial Week 15 press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid announced that wide receiver Mecole Hardman would return to the practice field on Wednesday.

The Chiefs placed Hardman on injured reserve in mid-November due to what the club deemed an abdomen illness and injury. He missed games against the Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Hardman practicing Wednesday opens up a 21-day window in which the team must activate him to the 53-man roster.

“We’ll just see how he does in this ramp-up process, haven’t determined if he’ll play or not play,” began Reid. “We’re just going to ease him back in and see where he’s at.”

Reid said Hardman had been diligently working behind the scenes to get back to a place where he would be comfortable playing.

“[Hardman] lost a bunch of weight, and so it was a matter of kind of getting that back, but not with cheeseburgers,” smiled Reid. “But get back some good, hearty weight and strength. So he’s been working on that. He’s been working like crazy on that, and he’s going to continue to do that here.

“[Hardman will] do that this week when he’s out, practicing and doing. ‘OK, can we hold the weight and add a little bit to it?’”

Fellow wide receiver Kadarius Toney will continue to work Wednesday after limitedly practicing all of last week before being ruled out against the Broncos. Toney last played for the Chiefs in Week 10, when he injured his hamstring after having played just 14 snaps.

“He had a little bit of a ramp-up last week, which was good,” noted Reid. “He came out of that feeling pretty good, so we’ll see how he does this week and make a decision down the road here, take it day by day — just see how he does.”

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is eager to get both players back in the lineup. With 4.33 and 4.39 40-yard dash times, respectively, Hardman and Toney add a dynamic to the Chiefs they have desperately missed these last couple of weeks.

“I think getting Mecole and KT back will just add another dimension,” said Mahomes. “They can do the jet sweeps and stuff like that, but just added that speed to the field, it just makes teams have to honor it.

“Obviously, Marquez [Valdes-Scantling] has done a great job filling that role, and so has Skyy [Moore], but just to continue to add speed to any offense that those two guys have, I think it will open up everybody else because you have to really account for those two guys on every play.”

The Chiefs will release their first official Week 15 injury report early on Wednesday afternoon. Reid said that every member of the 53-man roster would practice in some capacity.