The injury statuses of Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers Mecole Hardman (pelvis), JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Kadarius Toney (ankle and hamstring) is a key storyline to follow ahead of Super Bowl 57.
All three receivers left Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Cincinnati Bengals and did not return. Despite being short-handed at receiver, Patrick Mahomes was able to will his team to a last-second 23-20 victory to set up a Super Bowl showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Per NFL.com’s Nick Shook, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters that Hardman is unlikely to play, but he’s optimistic about Smith-Schuster and Toney suiting up.
“I doubt he’ll make the Super Bowl,” Reid said on Hardman.
With all the injuries at receiver, Mahomes had to lean on Marquez Valdes-Scantling and superstar tight end Travis Kelce in the passing game against Cincinnati. Valdes-Scantling finished as the leading receiver with six receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown, while Kelce contributed seven receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas City signed Smith-Schuster to a one-year contract in 2022 free agency, and he flourished as the team’s new WR1 following the departure of Tyreek Hill. Smith-Schuster finished with 78 receptions for 933 yards and three touchdowns.
Toney, a 2021 first-round pick of the New York Giants, was acquired by Kansas City ahead of the trade deadline. Reid used Toney as both a runner and a receiver, and he finished with 171 rushing yards, 59 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
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Hardman was limited to eight games in the regular season. The fourth-year wideout had 34 receptions for 297 yards and four touchdowns.
