Who Should I Start? Mecole Hardman or Maurice Alexander

Friday, January 16, 4:45 PM

The Buffalo Bills announced on Friday that they elevated wide receiver Mecole Hardman from the practice squad to the active 53-man roster for Saturday's Divisional Round game against the hosting Denver Broncos. The team also elevated running back Frank Gore Jr. from the practice squad. Hardman will give Buffalo extra receiver depth after Gabe Davis (knee) and Tyrell Shavers (knee) both tore their ACLs in last Sunday's win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs. Joshua Palmer (ankle) is also on Injured Reserve for the Bills, so their depth at the WR position behind Khalil Shakir will be tested in Denver. The 27-year-old Hardman is unlikely to have a big role on offense this weekend against a tough defense. In just two regular-season games in 2025, he had one target and no receptions.

Friday, January 31, 10:48 PM

The Chicago Bears signed free-agent wide receiver Maurice Alexander to a Reserve/Futures deal on Friday, according to KPRC's Aaron Wilson. New head coach Ben Johnson is poaching Alexander from the Detroit Lions after the 28-year-old spent the last three years in Detroit. The former undrafted free agent out of Florida International has only appeared in four NFL games, though, with all of them coming back in 2022. In his four games for the Lions, he caught his only target for a gain of seven yards. Alexander will head to Chicago with a firm grasp of Johnson's offensive concepts, although he will still be a long shot to make the 53-man active roster to begin the 2025 season out of training camp. He will most likely stick on Chicago's practice squad next season.