The Kansas City Chiefs have several roster moves ahead of the Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Chargers on “Sunday Night Football.”

The most notable comes after an untimely late-week injury to Kansas City Chiefs WR Mecole Hardman. Hardman was listed as questionable for the game on the final injury report, but he’ll be downgraded to out. The team placed Hardman on injured reserve with his knee injury, leading to an underdog receiver on the practice squad finally getting his chance to shine.

Second-year WR Nikko Remigo has officially been signed from the practice squad to an active roster contract. Expect that he’ll handle punt return and kick return duties that Hardman would typicall handle while playing mainly a tertiary role on offense.

Remigio had a strong OTAs, training camp, and preseason for the second year in a row, but he came up just short of cracking the 53-man roster in 2024. He received strong praise from special teams coordinator Dave Toub, offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, and even backup QB Carson Wentz in the offseason. His entire path to Kansas City thus far has all been about perseverance.

“Yeah, just staying resilient,” Remigio told reporters following practice. “And that’s really been kind of the moral of my entire journey. Just staying resilient and continuing to punch. You know, I’ve always been an underdog, every single level of football that I’ve played at. So, you know, being in this position is nothing new to me. Just making sure that I’m still fighting, and like I said, being the best version of myself every single day.”

One thing to consider on Nikko Remigio’s promotion to the active roster is that Hollywood Brown is also waiting in the wings for an injury return designation. Could this signal that Brown isn’t quite ready to resume practice and come back in the coming weeks? It’s also worth noting that Hardman will not be eligible to be designated to return from IR until Week 18’s game against the Broncos.

Chiefs practice squad elevations for Week 14

With the injury to TE Peyton Hendershot, the Chiefs elevated TE Baylor Cupp from the practice squad. That’s a notable move, given that the Chargers have struggled against 12 and 13 personnel. He could legitimately play 15-20 snaps on offense, in addition to having a role on special teams. Kansas City also brought up LB Swayze Bozeman, which will likely be a special teams move to reinforce Dave Toub’s group.