Who Should I Start? Mecole Hardman or Trenton Irwin

Wednesday, January 22, 1:12 PM

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said on Wednesday that wide receiver Mecole Hardman (knee) will remain on Injured Reserve, which means he won't play again this season, even if the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship this Sunday to advance to a third straight Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs opened Hardman's 21-day practice window to return from IR before the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Denver Broncos, but the team never felt comfortable putting him out there on game day. The 26-year-old will now begin his offseason early and make sure that his knee is fully ready for the start of the 2025 regular season this fall. Hardman was mostly valuable to the Chiefs this year before his knee injury as a return man on special teams, as he caught only 12 of 14 targets for 90 yards and no touchdowns in 12 games played in 2024.

Tuesday, December 10, 2:38 PM

The Carolina Panthers signed veteran wide receiver Trenton Irwin on Tuesday, according to NFL.com. The former Cincinnati Bengal will start on the practice squad, but the belief is he will join the active roster in short order. The 29-year-old has hauled in 46 receptions for 601 yards and five touchdowns in 40 career games and was recently let go by the Bengals. The Panthers have a thin wide receiver group behind Adam Thielen and Xavier Legette, so don't rule Irwin out of making an impact over the next four games. That said, it would be surprising if he entered the fantasy football radar.