Hollywood Brown is one of the best wide receivers available in NFL free agency, yet after the first day of the legal tampering period, he still remains unsigned.
While Brown is coming off a career-low 574 receiving yards in 2023, he’s still only 26 years old and has been a productive receiver in his NFL career, most notably with the Baltimore Ravens.
Where are some of the best potential landing spots for Brown as he enters his sixth season? We give our free agency predictions on his best landing spots.
Hollywood Brown Free Agency Landing Spots
Hollywood Brown Reunited With the Ravens?
One might ask, “Why would Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown return to the Ravens, despite asking for a trade from the team in 2022?” It’s not because of Lamar Jackson, who has been Brown’s friend since their high school days in Broward County, FL. It’s because of Greg Roman’s run-oriented offensive system, according to Brown.
Brown went on the I AM ATHLETE podcast to discuss why he wanted out of Baltimore back in 2022.
“I let him know again [toward the end of last season], like, ‘Yeah, bro, I can’t do it,’” Brown said via The Baltimore Sun.
“And it’s not really on Lamar. Like, I love Lamar. It was just, the system wasn’t for me, personally. I love all my teammates, I love the guys, but it was just something I had to think about for myself. The Ravens — we both handled it the right way. I didn’t go out and make anything public. I just kept it in-house, kept working, and, you know, it all worked out.”
It’s just business. The business for Brown is that former offensive coordinator Roman is gone to the Los Angeles Chargers. They can’t hurt one another anymore. The only question is how much Brown could own on the open market, and per Spotrac, it’s a ton more than what the Ravens may be willing to offer.
Brown Links Up With Former Coach
ESPN Jets reporter Rich Cimini believes that the New York Jets could take a look at Brown in free agency. Jets wide receivers coach Shawn Jefferson formerly coached Brown in Arizona.
“Interesting note: (New Jets WR coach Shawn Jefferson) coached Hollywood Brown in Arizona a couple of years ago,” Cimini said. “Brown will be a free agent (this offseason). Something to write down perhaps as we get closer to free agency.”
The Jets have a need at receiver and would most likely love to add to quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ weaponry after coming off of an Achilles tear. It would make sense to add a receiver that could be a home-run threat, even on short patterns that would allow Rodgers to rid himself of the ball swiftly and find the open man. The Jets have $18,751,235 in cap space, per Over the Cap.
Chicago Bears Would Be a Good Fit
Lincoln Riley was the head coach at Oklahoma while Brown played in college. Caleb Williams followed Riley from Oklahoma to USC. If the Chicago Bears were to draft Williams — which looks likely at the moment — it’s a no-brainer that Brown would be a good fit for the young quarterback.
The Bears struggled in the passing game last season with Justin Fields at quarterback and Luke Getsy at the helm as offensive coordinator. Outside of DJ Moore and Cole Kmet, the Bears had no receivers with more than two touchdown receptions.
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Even Brown, who had four touchdowns in 2023, would’ve had more yards and receptions than the next closest player in Darnell Mooney. Mooney had 31 receptions for 414 yards and one touchdown. Chicago was 27th in pass attempts (513), 27th in passing yards (3,096), 23rd in passing touchdowns (19), and 21st in interceptions (15).
The Bears have money to blow with $57,622,124 of cap room, per Over the Cap.
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