Who Should I Start? Sterling Shepard or Mecole Hardman

Monday, October 13, 9:40 AM

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Sterling Sheppard should be in line for an increase in workload moving forward, with Mike Evans (hamstring), Chris Godwin (fibula), Bucky Irving (shoulder/foot), Jalen McMillan (neck), and now Emeka Egbuka (hamstring) all injured and expected to miss some time. Sheppard remains one of the few healthy Buccaneer receivers, and his competition for targets includes rookie Tez Johnson, Cade Otton, and Kameron Johnson. Sheppard is the most proven and experienced in that pass-catching room, and heading into what is expected to be a high-scoring affair against the Detroit Lions (53.5 point total according to sportsbooks), should be a solid low-end WR2 play and prioritized on the waiver wires this week.

Tuesday, August 26, 1:11 PM

The Green Bay Packers are releasing wide receiver Mecole Hardman on Tuesday, sources told Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. Despite the Packers dealing with multiple injuries to their receiving corps in training camp, the Packers will move on from Hardman, who was looking to secure a depth role with the Packers after spending the first six years of his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. In his six NFL seasons, the 27-year-old pass-catcher has caught 178 of hi 258 targets for 2,302 yards and 16 touchdowns in 80 regular-season games (28 starts). Hardman also has plenty of special-teams experience and should be able to find work with another team for his versatility and speed during the 2025 season. Last year in 12 regular-season games (no starts) with KC, Hardman caught just 12 passe for 90 yards and no scores.