Marquise “Hollywood” Brown may not make his official Kansas City Chiefs debut until the postseason. According to ESPN, the standout wide receiver is not expected to play in the regular season after undergoing surgery on his shoulder. Brown had surgery on his dislocated shoulder joint and was placed on injured reserve, ruling him out for at least four games.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid initially stated that Brown was “getting close” to being able to play. However, he changed his tune when speaking with reporters, saying that Brown’s return was “months” away. Brown suffered the dislocated sternoclavicular joint in the Chiefs’ preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 10 and has been sidelined ever since.
The two-time defending Super Bowl champions are set to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Chiefs had compared Brown’s injury to a similar one sustained by former Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill in 2019, causing him to miss four weeks of play. Initially, they did not place Brown on injured reserve after cutting their roster following training camp, indicating their hope of getting him back within that time frame. However, it seems that the surgery required for his shoulder joint could keep him out for several more months.
In last week’s season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens, other members of the Chiefs’ wide receiver corps stepped up and performed well. Rashee Rice had seven catches for 103 yards, Xavier Worthy scored touchdowns running and receiving as a first-round draft pick, and Justin Watson made a 25-yard reception on his only target during their victory.
Additionally, JuJu Smith-Schuster is expected to contribute more this week after being released by the New England Patriots and having limited practice time before facing off against the Ravens.
(Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
