Mecole Hardman reveals scary details from his hospital visit last season

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A day after being traded from the New York Jets, the newest Chiefs receiver, Mecole Hardman, has revealed the kind of pain he was in last season.

In 2022, Hardman was a member of the Chiefs, featuring in only eight regular season affairs due to injury.

Hardman got hurt after a November game against the Tennessee Titans, with the 25-year-old began feeling cramps in his abdomen.

According to Hardman, speaking at a press conference, the pain got worse by the hour, eventually leading to him calling Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder before finally going to the emergency room, where he was admitted to the hospital.

During his stay, Hardman said that he lost feeling in his leg for “four or five days” while being hospitalized a couple more days after the feeling returned.

He would miss the final nine games of the 2022 regular season and the Chiefs’ post-season triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Mecole Hardman injury scare

More bad news came to Hardman as the playoffs progressed, with the KC receiver hurting his groin in the AFC Championship Game versus the Cincinnati Bengals, forcing him to miss their Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

“It was scary as hell, not being able to move my legs,” Hardman said. “It makes you think, ‘Is this it?’ The feeling came back — the doctor said it would come back, and that gave me hope. But the 10 days I was there, I slept maybe 8 hours or so, 10 hours max, because I was in so much pain.”

Doctors, meanwhile, initially couldn’t put a finger on a diagnosis before eventually settling on osteitis pubis, an inflammation of the joint between the left and right pubic bones which causes swelling and pain that extends from the groin to the lower abdomen.

As a result, Hardman missed most of his contract year with KC as his rookie deal was ending, and he was seeking a big payday.

In the end, he didn’t get a big contract but did sign a $4 million contract to join the New York Jets this season.

He wasn’t long for New York as he saw limited playing time in five games in East Rutherford with just one catch as he moved down the Jets receiving depth chart.

“I got with my agents and they said there’s some talk they could possibly trade you,” Hardman said. “After that, that’s when we just started waiting for the inevitable, seeing what would happen.

“They kept it low-key the teams that were interested — in the mix. When I heard it was Kansas City, I was excited to get back here.”

For the moment, Hardman will try to get up to speed on the Chiefs playbook, and though he said it hasn’t changed much since he was part of the offense, there is different verbiage.

While he’ll be expected to give the Chiefs some punch at the wide receiver position, Kansas City also intends to utilize him as a kick returner.

On Wednesday Hardman was traded by the Jets back to the Chiefs for a sixth and seventh round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.