The Kansas City Chiefs finally addressed wide receiver in free agency, signing former Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens pass-catcher Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to a one-year contract on Thursday. The deal includes $7 million guaranteed and could be worth up to $11 million if Brown reaches certain incentives.
After putting pen to paper Friday night, Brown shared a message with Chiefs Kingdom on social media.
Blessed Beyond Measures…
ChiefsKingdom Let’s Rock 🚨🚀 pic.twitter.com/uHGhDzhf8S
— Hollywood Brown (@Primetime_jet) March 15, 2024
The 25th overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, Brown spent his first three NFL seasons with the Ravens, establishing himself as a preferred target of star quarterback Lamar Jackson. He broke out in 2021, finishing his third season with 91 catches for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. Brown requested a trade the following offseason, Baltimore sending him and a third-round pick to Arizona during the 2022 draft in exchange for the No. 23 selection of the first round, which the team used on Pro Bowl center Tyler Lindenbaum.
Brown failed to live up to expectations with the Cardinals, struggling in large part due to subpar quarterback play once Kyler Murray went down with a torn ACL in Week 11 of his debut campaign. The former Oklahoma football star wasn't any better last season upon Murray's return to the field, catching just nine of 24 targets in four games before missing the last three weeks of 2023 due to a heel injury. Across 26 total games with Arizona, Brown had 118 catches for 1,283 yards and seven touchdowns, hauling in 56.7% of passes thrown his way.
Hollywood Brown signing highlights Chiefs' wide receiver overhaul
Brown's signing marks the first addition to what promises to be an overhauled wide receiver room for the Chiefs in 2024.
They've already parted ways with Marquez Valdez-Scantling, and no one would be surprised if Brett Veach and the front office do the same with Kadarius Toney despite another year remaining on his rookie contract. Skyy Moore will be back for Kansas City, but dreams of him emerging into a top-two wide receiver have all but vanished entirely after his disappointing sophomore campaign. Justin Watson, obviously, won't ever be more than a reliable role player.
Brown isn't Tee Higgins or Mike Evans, the established WR1 so many fans hoped Kansas City would sign in wake of 2023. His substandard production with Arizona has taken the luster off Brown's once-star status, as evidenced by the ‘prove-it' contract he elected to sign with the Chiefs.
But Brown can certainly stretch the deep part of the field, and despite standing just 5'9, 180 pounds, flashed the ability to work over the middle while catching passes from Jackson in Baltimore. He can run a full route tree and be counted on to catch the ball, versatility and reliability that Mahomes just didn't get from his wideouts last season. Rashee Rice was a standout for the Chiefs as a rookie, but never threatened all three levels of the field even after emerging as Mahomes' top target other than Travis Kelce late in the season.
Kansas City probably isn't done revamping its wide receiver corps, either. Brown's one-year deal makes it more likely the Chiefs could target another pass-catcher with the 32nd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and it's almost guaranteed they'll take a wide receiver in the second, third or fourth rounds. More help is coming for Mahomes, Kelce and Rice, basically.
The good news for Kansas City is there's a chance they don't even need it. With a defense led by Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie again projecting among the league's elite, even Brown making a similar impact to Juju Smith-Schuster's in 2022 could be enough to make the Chiefs clear-cut Super Bowl favorites. And if he reaches the peak he did with the Ravens, Brown may serve as the one piece this team needed to become the NFL's first ever three-peat champions.
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