Buffalo Bills' exciting midseason addition designated to return after lengthy absence

When the Buffalo Bills brought in Mecole Hardman through free agency, the hope was that he would add speed to their wide receiver room and a veteran presence in the return game.

Well, that idea was quickly quashed after Hardman injured his calf early during the second half of his first game with the Bills, in Week 11 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The injury sustained by the 27-year-old caused him to be placed on Injured Reserve, where he remained until the Bills designated Hardman to return from IR on Wednesday, ahead of a Week 16 matchup with the Cleveland Browns.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Mecole Hardman returns a punt during first half action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov 16, 2025 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What’s next?

Hardman will now have 21 days before he must be placed back on the Bills’ active roster. Otherwise, he would be forced to miss the remainder of the season. While the Bills could certainly use his abilities in the punt return game, where their 5.6 yards per return is tied for last in the league, his potential addition would cause quite the conundrum at the wide receiver position.

This past week against the New England Patriots, the Bills dressed five wide receivers, as they have for most games this season. As a result, Gabe Davis was surprisingly the odd man out and he was deemed a healthy inactive due to a numbers crunch. That left Khalil Shakir, Brandin Cooks, Tyrell Shavers, Joshua Palmer and Keon Coleman as the team’s group of five WRs entering the Week 15 matchup, with Davis in street clothes.

If Hardman were to be welcomed back to the 53-man roster, that could leave the team with two inactive players at the position each week, unless they were to choose to make six WRs active in a given week, which they did elect to do during Hardman’s one and only game this season. During the game against the Buccaneers five weeks ago, the Bills dressed Shakir, Palmer, Davis, Shavers, Curtis Samuel and Hardman, with Coleman and former Buffalo WR Elijah Moore both healthy inactives.

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Nov 9, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel (1) runs during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. | Jeff Romance-Imagn Images

A new look?

Thus, with the veteran’s pending return, there very well could be some changes to the look of Buffalo’s game-day roster moving forward. In his one appearance with the Bills this season, Hardman recorded a 61-yard kick return before later fumbling away his lone punt return attempt. He played four offensive snaps before being lost due to injury during the third quarter.

It should also be considered that Samuel (neck/elbow) is set to be eligible to return from IR as soon as Monday, which would add a layer of intrigue as to the team’s upcoming game-day decisions.

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