Chiefs bracing to lose one of Patrick Mahomes favorite targets

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – OCTOBER 16: Mekul Hardeman #17 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates a touchdown chase with Joe Joe Smith-Schuster #9 during the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Arrowhead Stadium on October 16, 2022 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Youllett/Getty Images)

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The Kansas City Chiefs could lose one of Patrick Mahomes’ favorite targets, as wide receiver Mekul Hardman may be out of his price range.

Kansas City general manager Brett Fitch seems likely to choose between JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman by today.

Smith-Schuster had a solid rebounding season after signing a proven play deal with Patrick Mahomes and Co. And the decade worked out well for Smith-Schuster and the Chiefs, with JuJu scoring north of 900 yards receiving well with Travis Kelsey and a well-rounded gun around the star quarterback.

Hardman, meanwhile, has had an injury-plagued season, but the former Georgia Bulldogs star is so talented and multi-faceted that he could be on special teams, too.

Which presidents must sign for this free agency?

Smith-Schuster’s market value, per Spotrac, is about $58.6 million for four years. That’s more than $14.6 million per season. Hardman, meanwhile, will cost about $10 million per season in a multi-year deal.

Can the Kansas City Chiefs re-sign Mikul Hardman?

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the market for Mecole Hardman is larger than the Chiefs anticipated, which means they will likely have to wait if they want to keep up the pace.

A lot of the reason KC is poised to lose some key players is because they won the Super Bowl – those players are often overvalued in the open market. It also doesn’t help that the Chiefs prefer to keep players like Smith-Schuster and Orlando Brown around. Juan Thornhill is also a free agent who is likely to leave, so it’s safe to say Veach has a lot to focus on this early in free agency.

The next two weeks are going to be really exciting.

– The_Juan_And_Only (@Juan_Thornhill) March 5, 2023

Hardman had just 25 catches for 297 yards and four touchdowns last year. Injuries forced him out of several major games. It’s hard to justify spending more than $10 million on it.

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