Chris Jones, Mecole Hardman join list of Chiefs injured players

The Kansas City Chiefs saw a few key players out with injuries in practice on Wednesday, including Chris Jones and Mecole Hardman.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been relatively healthy through the first half of the preseason but on Wednesday, they lost a few key players from practice with various injuries that will raise some significant concerns. The list of injuries now includes defensive tackle Chris Jones and wide receiver Mecole Hardman.

The Chiefs practiced back at St. Joseph in the midst of another week of training camp on Wednesday, but both Jones and Hardman were forced to leave early due to injuries. In addition, running back Jerick McKinnon sat out of practice with a hamstring injury.

After the injuries, the team gave updates on each player to help define the issues. For Hardman, a groin injury kept him from being able to participate any further in practice. Per NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, there are reasons for optimism in that he could walk off the field on his own, but nothing is known yet about the severity of the injury.

As for Chris Jones, a sore back removed him from practice after just a few minutes:

The loss of either player for any length of time would be a big deal for the Chiefs, but as veterans who are very familiar with what the Chiefs want to do on both sides of the ball, there’s no urgency to having them play in any upcoming postseason game. The Chiefs are focused on being ready for September 11, the date of their season-opening game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The Chiefs will have further updates on both injuries in coming days.