Social media activity points toward Chiefs losing pending free agent this offseason
The Kansas City Chiefs appear to be on the verge of losing a four-year veteran this offseason
The Kansas City Chiefs have several pending free agents they'll have to make decisions on this offseason.
Several of those pending free agents are wide receivers — specifically, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman.
And one of them may have signaled this week that he's ready to move on from Kansas City.
Hardman was selected by the Chiefs in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
The former Georgia standout has found moderate success in the NFL with his best season coming in 2021 when he caught 59 passes for 693 yards and two touchdowns.
Hardman appeared to signal on Thursday via a social media post that he wouldn't mind playing for the Chicago Bears where he could reunite with Justin Fields, his teammate at Georgia in 2018.
The expectation in recent weeks has been that Hardman won't return to Kansas City in 2023. That's why this tweet doesn't come as a huge surprise.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported recently that Hardman will likely command a salary higher than what the Chiefs will be willing to pay him. That's mostly due to the lack of premier wide receivers available in free agency.
Kansas City is expected to try to re-sign Smith-Schuster this offseason. They could look to add another veteran wide receiver or they could target a wide receiver in the draft (Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt could be a good fit).
Losing Hardman will certainly hurt the Chiefs' wide receiver depth, but it shouldn't impact their status as the team to beat in the NFL in 2023.
