The Kansas City Chiefs have re-signed wide receiver Marquise Brown ahead of free agency. The former Arizona Cardinal spent the 2024 season with the Chiefs and will once again be catching passes from Patrick Mahomes in 2025.
Chiefs Re-Sign Marquise Brown to One-Year, $11 Million Deal
Brown joined the Chiefs as a free agent in 2024 after being released by the Cardinals. However, a shoulder injury suffered in the team’s preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars sidelined him for most of the regular season.
Now, he gets a second chance to work with the best quarterback-playcaller duo in the NFL after signing a one-year, $11 million contract.
Source: Marquise Brown re-signing 1 year worth up to 11M with the #Chiefs. pic.twitter.com/Mmmq4bEI2G
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 8, 2025
Brown ranked No. 45 on PFSN’s Top 100 Free Agents list, one spot ahead of Stefon Diggs.
“Brown showed flashes of effectiveness in his limited sample size, catching nine passes for 91 yards while playing 34% of the snaps over those two games. With the tandem of Brown and Rashee Rice not coming to fruition in 2024 after Rice suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, the Chiefs may want to retain Brown and run it back for 2025.”
What Does Brown Bring to the Chiefs?
After returning from injury, Brown earned a target on 24.8% of his routes in a Mahomes-led offense that rarely force-feeds any single receiver.
For reference, that target rate ranked in the same range as both Bengals star wideouts, just behind Justin Jefferson and just ahead of Ladd McConkey. Brown might not be on that level, but earning Mahomes’ trust that quickly is impressive.
That said, the production still isn’t quite there. Brown turns 28 in June and has just one 800-yard season on his resume (2021 with the Ravens). In that breakout season, he earned 13 end-zone targets—a stat that doesn’t often favor smaller receivers.
That wasn’t a fluke, but the fact that he’s had just 13 end-zone targets since suggests that 2021 might have been more of an outlier than a sign of things to come.
With the Chiefs hoping to have Rice, rookie Xavier Worthy, and Brown all healthy in 2025—along with a returning Travis Kelce—Andy Reid’s squad will once again be a team to watch.
Kansas City still needs to address its offensive line this offseason, but if the Chiefs can keep Mahomes upright, he won’t be short on weapons.
Brown enters 2025 with something to prove—just like the Kansas City Chiefs.