Over the offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to their wide receiver room in hopes of adding a deep threat who could help them in their quest to pull off the first three-peat in NFL history. However, Brown has yet to appear in a game for the Chiefs this season. Let’s examine the latest on Brown’s injury and when he will return.
What Is Hollywood Brown’s Injury?
Brown’s injury came all the way back on the first offensive play of the Chiefs’ preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He caught a pass, and he suffered a sternoclavicular joint dislocation when he landed.
Initially, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid compared Brown’s recovery timeline to Tyreek Hill’s recovery from 2019. Hill was injured on Sept. 8 and returned on Oct. 13, a 35-day timeline. With Brown suffering his dislocation on Aug. 10, he was believed to be on track to play in Week 2 against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 15.
After Week 1, Reid even said that Brown was “getting close” and “feeling better,” so things seemed to be heading in the right direction.
“We’ll see how Hollywood works out with all of his tests that he’s going to have this week, but we’ll just see where he’s at,” Reid said. “Listen, everybody’s different, but it’s that same type of injury. … He’s getting close. I know he’s feeling better, we’ve just got to kind of see where it goes from here.
“They’ve been doing these periodic tests on him and making sure that he’s headed in the right direction and scans and all that, but it looks like it’s heading in the right direction; now we just have to see where it goes from there.”
However, further tests revealed that Brown’s injury was more severe than initially expected.
How Long Will Brown Be Sidelined?
Despite the initial belief that he’d be back by Week 2, the Chiefs put Brown on injured reserve, forcing him to miss at least four games. However, he was eligible to return in Week 6 but remained out.
Back in September, shortly after Brown underwent surgery on his dislocated SC joint, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brown was expected to miss the remainder of the regular season.
“Disappointed, frustrated, and sad was the first wave of emotions once I realized I would need surgery but that only lasted a day or so because of my faith in God,” Brown said on X.
“I feel it’s my duty to let everyone know out there no matter if things are going good or not going the way you want it to, never wary from your faith but to lean and trust into God no matter the situation… With that being said let’s enjoy some great football!”
However, recent comments from Reid have some Chiefs fans holding out hope that Brown will be able to return at some point during the postseason — perhaps for the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl if Kansas City advances that far.
Reid told reporters that Brown is “doing great” and he’s “on schedule” or even “a little ahead of schedule.”
#Chiefs HC Andy Reid says WR Hollywood Brown is "doing great" and that he's either "on schedule" or "a little ahead of schedule."
Called him a "relentless worker."
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) October 23, 2024
This lines up with what NFL insider James Palmer reported in late October when he said, “By the time the postseason arrives, I’m told there is a real chance Hollywood Brown could return.”
How Has Brown’s Injury Impacted the Chiefs?
The Chiefs really miss their top receivers, Rashee Rice (knee) and Brown. Kansas City is undefeated, but their offense is significantly worse without these weapons on the field.
First-round pick Xavier Worthy hasn’t stepped up and filled the void left by Rice and Brown’s absence, as he’s turned 43 targets into just 20 receptions for 246 yards and three touchdowns this season.
The Chiefs recently acquired veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans in an effort to improve their wide receiver room. Through three games, he’s been solid, catching 14 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns.
Mahomes clearly misses Rice and Brown. He’s currently posting career lows in touchdown percentage, yards per game, and net yards gained per pass attempt while tying his career high in interception percentage.
In addition, Mahomes is throwing the shortest average pass of any quarterback in the league, with an average depth of target of 3.4 air yards per attempt.
Travis Kelce has largely shouldered much of the passing-game workload. He leads the Chiefs in targets (76), receptions (60), and receiving yards (499), while no other player has more than 20 receptions or 250 receiving yards.
However, the biggest impact has been on Reid’s play-calling. The Chiefs have always leaned into Mahomes as their greatest strength, being one of the most pass-happy offenses in the league.
But this season, Kansas City has leaned into the run game significantly more than usual, even with Isiah Pacheco sidelined. The Chiefs have dropped back to pass just 58.7% of the time, which ranks 15th in the NFL. Previously, from 2018-2023, Kansas City was tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the highest dropback rate in the NFL (65.4%).