Chiefs WR Brown needs surgery, season at risk

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is scheduled for surgery for a sternoclavicular injury, with coach Andy Reid saying Brown could miss the remainder of the season.

“It’s not going to be weeks,” Reid said Friday of a timeline for Brown’s return. “More like months.

“Everybody’s a little different, and this [injury], not a lot of these that we have information on, so we’ve just got to wait it out and see how long it takes. We’ll see where that takes us in this process. But that’s the information we have, and we’re just going to have to hold tight on that.”

Rick Burkholder, the Chiefs’ vice president for sports medicine and performance, said Brown would have surgery for the injury, which affects one of the shoulder joints, Monday in Vail, Colorado. The Chiefs are placing Brown on injured reserve, guaranteeing he will miss at least the next four games.

“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 wrote on X. “Knowing that this to shall pass, no matter the great opportunity I had in front of me. It’s not over and that’s not the path God wanted for me and I’m perfectly fine with that now.”

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. 🙏🏿 knowing that this to shall pass , no matter the great opportunity I had in front of me. It’s not over and that’s…

— Hollywood Brown (@Primetime_jet) September 13, 2024

Brown was injured after catching a pass on the first play of the Chiefs’ first preseason game Aug. 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He didn’t play in the Chiefs’ season-opening win over the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5 but had appeared on track to return perhaps in time for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium.

“He was doing great in rehab,” Burkholder said. “He was having no pain. We were discussing return-to-play opportunities, but we had one last check of another image to do at … four weeks from the injury, three weeks from the last MRI, and it looked like the bone had moved. So we consulted with three or four physicians in the country and then sent him out to Vail to a specialist, and everybody involved felt like it was a little too risky for him to play without having this operated on.”

The Chiefs are left with six wide receivers on their active roster. Rashee Rice was the Chiefs’ leading wide receiver against the Ravens with seven catches for 103 yards. Rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy scored two touchdowns, one on an end-around.

Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore are the Chiefs’ other wide receivers. Reid indicated the Chiefs didn’t feel a need to bring in another receiver.

“I think we’ve got some good guys at that spot,” he said. “We’ve got some depth there and feel good about that.”

Brown, 27, was the Chiefs’ major offseason free agent signing. He had played five NFL seasons before joining the Chiefs: three with the Ravens and two with the Arizona Cardinals. His best season came with Baltimore in 2021 when he caught 91 passes for 1,008 yards. He caught 51 passes for 574 yards last season with the Cardinals.