Kansas City’s receiving corps looks quite different from the group it trotted out to open last season. While the Chiefs ultimately won Super Bowl LVIII anyway, they made the expected call to revamp their pass-catching contingent this offseason.
One of the players brought in, as expected, will not be available to open the season. After suffering an injury during the Chiefs’ preseason opener, Marquise Brown is not expected to play in Week 1 against the Ravens, per Andy Reid.
The former Baltimore first-rounder sustained an SC joint injury comparable to Tyreek Hill‘s from 2019. The all-time great went down in Week 1 of the ’19 season and did not return until Week 6 that year. Brown suffered his injury August 10, potentially putting Kansas City’s Week 2 matchup — after the upcoming post-Thursday mini-bye — in play for the free agent signing’s debut.
Reid’s early assessment of Brown’s status comes after SI.com’s Albert Breer indicated the former Ravens and Cardinals starter would miss early-season time. The Chiefs open with the Ravens and Bengals, potentially needing to count on others against Cincinnati as well. Since signing Brown, however, the two-time reigning champions added Xavier Worthy in Round 1, re-signed Mecole Hardman and reunited with JuJu Smith-Schuster after the Patriots cut bait. With Travis Kelce available after missing last season’s opener, the Chiefs appear better equipped than they were against the Lions last year.
While Brett Veach compared the injury to Hill’s 2019 malady, the eighth-year GM is optimistic. Kansas City’s decision to leave Brown on the active roster, rather than use a cutdown-day IR-return designation, reflects the team’s belief the offseason pickup can come back soon. Brown would have been down for at least four games had Kansas City placed him on IR.
“I probably can confidently say it was similar to Tyreek, and I think given that timeline I think it falls within the timeline that Tyreek went through, but I know he’s here every day,” Veach said. “He’s to the point now where he can laugh without pain, so that’s a good thing. He’s certainly trending in the right direction, and look, there was a reason why we didn’t put him on the IR to start the season.”
Brown has gone through some injury bouts as a pro. A Lisfranc issue plagued him as a rookie, though the 2019 draftee played 14 games that year. The Cardinals rarely saw a fully healthy Brown. More foot trouble intervened last season, causing Brown to miss five games in 2022. The Oklahoma alum also played through a heel injury for much of the 2023 season, ultimately missing three games. The Chiefs will hope for a September return.
“The all time great…”?
Gotta love objective unbiased journalism
Given how consistently productive he’s been over eight years, he already has over 700 catches & 10,000 yards in his career, I would call him an all-time great.
Gotta love unbiased Chief haters.