Kansas City Chiefs HC Andy Reid gave his usual pre-practice injury update on Wednesday.
It was all good news from Reid to start the practice week. He didn’t have any new injuries report, but he did share some insight on a pair of players returning from injury. First, he confirmed that Mecole Hardman has been designated to return from injured reserve with his 21-day practice window opening.
“Alright, I don’t really have any injuries to talk about,” Reid said. “Mecole Hardman will be back out at practice. We’ll just see how he does in this ramp-up process. I haven’t determined if he’ll play or not play, we just want to ease him back in and see where he’s at. Everybody else will practice and do their thing.”
Hardman was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 17 after dealing with an undisclosed abdominal issue. One of the biggest obstacles with whatever he’s been dealing with is that it caused him to lose weight. Reid explained that in the past few weeks, Hardman has been focused on gaining that good weight back. Whether he can maintain his weight this week during practice will play a big role in how quickly they decide to activate him to the 53-man roster.
“Well, he lost a bunch of weight,” Reid said. “So it was kind of a matter of getting that back, but not with cheeseburgers. But to 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. He’ll do that this week. When he’s out practicing and doing things out there, can he hold the weight and add to it?”
As for Kadarius Toney, who has missed the past few weeks with a hamstring injury, Reid was encouraged by what he saw in practice last week. It’s just a matter of stacking another good week and ensuring that Toney comes out of practice feeling alright.
“So, he had a little bit of a ramp-up last week, which was good,” Reid said. “He came out of that feeling good. We’ll see how he does this week and we’ll make a decision down the road here. We’ll take it day-by-day and just see how he does.”