Chiefs WR Marquise Brown To Miss Time

8:41PM: Schefter provided an update this evening that Brown has arrived back in Kansas City following his release from the Jacksonville-area hospital he spent the night in. Schefter adds that, a day after his diagnosis, Brown’s status for the Chiefs’ regular season opener versus Brown’s former team, the Ravens, is still uncertain at this point.

8:17AM: Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown sustained a dislocation of the sternoclavicular (SC) joint in his left shoulder during last night’s preseason opener against the Jaguars, per ESPN’s Adam Teicher. The 27-year-old receiver was hospitalized, because as ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell writes, SC joint dislocation can be particularly serious due to its potential to impact critical blood vessels. Luckily, Brown was discharged from the hospital this morning and cleared to return to Kansas City, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.

“Hollywood” suffered the injury on the first play of the game, catching an 11-yard pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes before being tackled and landing awkwardly on the shoulder. Significant injuries to key starters in exhibition contests always lead to a few raised eyebrows, but head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy wanted the first-year Chief to get his feet wet in live action as soon as possible.

The Chiefs’ underwhelming WR corps was a major storyline for the club last season, and while they ultimately secured a Super Bowl victory despite the struggles of some of their top pass catchers, they made a concerted effort to give Mahomes a more explosive arsenal this offseason. That included the acquisition of Brown, whose speed and route-running abilities put one in mind of a lesser version of former Kansas City standout Tyreek Hill.

Interestingly, as Nate Taylor of The Athletic (subscription required) reminds us, Brown’s injury is similar to the one that Hill himself suffered in 2019’s regular season opener (also against the Jaguars). Hill ultimately missed 34 days, and Taylor says the injury will require surgery that comes with a recovery time of four to six weeks. That timeline would force Brown to miss the regular season opener against the Ravens and jeopardize his availability for KC’s next two games as well.

Despite Brown’s speed and separation ability, he has never posted gaudy yards-per-reception numbers and has topped the 1,000-yard mark just once in his five-year career. Of course, he played on run-heavy offenses during his first three seasons in the league as a member of the Ravens – which is what compelled him to request a trade out of Baltimore – and over the last two years with the Cardinals, he played with seven different QBs while dealing with a few injury concerns.

His limited production in the desert put a damper on his market this offseason, and he ultimately signed a one-year, $7MM deal (plus up to $4MM in incentives) with Kansas City, which is a fine place for a talented receiver to play out a pillow contract given the presence of Reid and Mahomes. Brown and Mahomes had reportedly built a strong rapport over the course of offseason practices and training camp, a connection that will now be put on pause for a time.

First-round rookie Xavier Worthy, another speed merchant, will be relied upon more heavily in Brown’s absence. The Chiefs’ expect second-year pro Rashee Rice, the club’s top receiver in 2023, to be suspended for his offseason legal issues, though it remains to be seen when that ban will be handed down.