Mecole Hardman to IR, Clyde Edwards-Helaire activated | KCSN Daily 2.6
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The Chiefs made an expected transaction on Monday ahead of Super Bowl LVII against the Eagles. The team placed WR Mecole Hardman (pelvis) on injured reserve after he aggravated his injury during the AFC Championship Game. Andy Reid implied just last week that Hardman was unlikely to play in the Super Bowl, but this now confirms it.
It’s also possible that this is the last we’ve seen of Hardman in Kansas City. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in March and it’s unclear what his market will look like in free agency.


In a corresponding move, the Chiefs activated RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle) to the 53-man roster from injured reserve. Edwards-Helaire missed seven regular-season games and two postseason games with a high ankle sprain. He indicated a while ago on Twitter that he was healthy enough to return to action, but Kansas City is just now bringing him back just ahead of the expiration of his 21-day practice window.
Don’t expect Edwards-Helaire to impact either Isiah Pacheco or Jerick McKinnon’s workload, but he could be made active over Ronald Jones in Super Bowl LVII. His skill set is more in line with what the Chiefs covet at the position, especially if one of the aforementioned starters were injured during the game. There are also a few other things working in his favor heading into the Super Bowl.
Edwards-Helaire found success running the ball against the Eagles in 2021, hitting a career-high in yards per rushing attempt (7.29) in a single game. He’s also been a weapon for Kansas City in the red zone this season with all six of his touchdowns coming within the 20-yard line. That certainly won’t hurt his chances of contributing in some capacity come Sunday.
KC Laboratory - Chiefs vs. Eagles best Super Bowl LVII prop bets:
KCSN’s Kent Swanson, Craig Stout, and Matt Lane start Super Bowl LVII week by breaking down and analyzing the best prop bets for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Want to read a full analytics preview of the Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl LVII matchup? Pick up a paid subscription for access to exclusive subscriber-only content.
Super Bowl LVII Opening Night:
Super Bowl Opening Night presented by Fast Twitch kicks off on Monday, Feb. 6 from 8:00-10:00 p.m. CT. Coverage of the event will be broadcast live on ESPN2, NFL Network and FS1. The following 10 players and coaches will be made available for media members for roughly one hour’s time during the event.
Chiefs (9-10:00 p.m. CT):
Andy Reid
Patrick Mahomes
Travis Kelce
Chris Jones
Frank Clark
Orlando Brown
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Isiah Pacheco
Nick Bolton
L'Jarius Sneed
Jerick McKinnon
Eagles (7-8:00 p.m. CT):
Nick Sirianni
Jalen Hurts
A.J. Brown
Jason Kelce
Lane Johnson
Jordan Mailata
Haason Reddick
Brandon Graham
Fletcher Cox
Darius Slay
Miles Sanders
(Photo via NFL)
Remember, vote for Kansas City Chiefs 2022 NFL Fan of the Year Nominee Dr. Amy Patel. You can vote multiple times until polls close on Wednesday, Feb. 9. Click the image above to listen to KCSN’s BJ Kissel exclusive interview with Dr. Patel.
KCSN Update:
KCSN’s BJ Kissel sits down with ESPN's Matt Miller to get his stock-up and stock-down reports from the Kansas City Chiefs prior to their matchup in Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Quotable:
“Well first of all, (Running Backs) Coach Greg Lewis has done a great job of teaching him, getting him to understand and see the big picture because at that position, you want the best football player that happens to be a hell of a running back playing in that position, especially in all the things that we’re asking our guys to do. And so, I’m proud of the way he’s stepped up. Greg has done a great job, but on top of that, (Isiah) Pacheco has just taken everything in. And he’s gravitating towards the O-linemen, he’s understanding calls, I think also, too, Jerick McKinnon has done an outstanding job of helping him as well. We got a good nucleus of guys in that room. And I know his name hasn’t been mentioned in a while, but Clyde (Edwards-Helaire) has done a great job of helping him – and that’s the beauty about the team that we have. There is no particular person here that (doesn’t) help in anyway. All of our guys understand the importance of making sure that our guys know what to do. So if coaches are to the side, players are coaching each other up, making sure that they know exactly what’s going on because you never know when that player might be called upon and we’re going to need that player to be at their best. But he’s done a great job.” - Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy on Isiah Pacheco’s growth
“Yeah, I thought Chris (Jones) was dominant and real disruptive in the pass game that we played, and we needed that. We know how elite that quarterback (Bengals QB Joe Burrow) is. It almost feels like this is the complete reverse of what we’re facing now (the Eagles) because it was pretty pass dominated – what we just played. This is a little more run dominated, although, when you watch the Philadelphia Eagles, they’re a very balanced football team in terms of run and pass. And they’re really good at running the football even on third down. But I think Chris – listen – we’re glad we have him. He can make a big difference in a lot of things and he can be disruptive in the run game too, he’s just got to get in the right spot and hopefully we got the right defense called against whatever they’re running offensively.” - Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo on Chris Jones’ AFC title game performance
Quick Hits:
From Stefen Wisniewski: The Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl has been dubbed the Andy Reid Bowl and the Kelce Bowl, but it should really be called the Wisniewski Bowl. He’s the only player to have earned a Super Bowl ring with both teams.


From Rutgers: A cool factoid from Rutgers University. Michael Burton and Isiah Pacheco are only the second fullback-running back combo to hail from the same school in Super Bowl history. The first was 49ers RB Roger Craig and FB Tom Rathman in Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV, who both played collegiately at Nebraska.


From Fox 4 KC: A Super Bowl send-off from the neighbors of LB Willie Gay Jr. and TE Noah Gray. Kansas City sure does love their football.

From KCSN: Be sure to follow KC Sports Network on Facebook if you use that social media platform!
Important dates ahead:
NFL Honors - Thursday, Feb. 9 at 9:00 PM ET.
Super Bowl LVII - Sunday, Feb. 12 at 6:30 PM ET.
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