The 2024 Kansas City Chiefs came just one game short of achieving their dream three-peat, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59. During the regular season, the team finished with an impressive 15-2 record. One of those losses came while resting starters in Week 18, all despite dealing with injuries to key offensive players like receivers Rashee Rice and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown.
Heading into 2025, the expectation is that both receivers will be back on the field and ready to contribute to an offense that needed more weapons for Patrick Mahomes when it mattered most. The Chiefs quarterback spoke about having Brown back fully healthy and how his presence will impact the team’s plans for the upcoming season.
Patrick Mahomes Excited To Have Hollywood Brown at Full Time for the Season
The Chiefs’ offense in 2024 was efficient but not in the explosive way we’ve come to expect. Focused more on short conversions and fewer big plays, the offense had to adapt weekly to overcome obstacles. As a result, Kansas City surpassed the 30-point mark only once all season during the AFC Championship Game against the Buffalo Bills.
In Brown’s case, an unfortunate preseason injury sidelined him for almost the entire regular season. He appeared in only two regular-season games and all three playoff games, but the lack of time on the field severely impacted his chemistry with Mahomes and his fit within Andy Reid’s system.
Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown says on his late-season comeback in 2024: “I really leaned on my faith. I didn’t come back expecting anything. . . I was just really grateful that I had the opportunity to come back.”
He says he wasn’t at his best, but adds he’s now 100% and looking to…
— Charles Goldman (@goldmctNFL) June 17, 2025
Mahomes addressed Brown’s return, acknowledging how last year’s injury was an unfortunate setback that directly affected the offense’s rhythm.
“He did everything the right way, was in the building early, was in the building late, was teaching other guys. For him to get injured in kind of a freak deal there in the first play of the preseason, it stunk. I was happy to have him back at the end of the season and him to get back within the offense,” Mahomes said.
Brown returned to practice and participated in the team’s minicamp, showing that he is fully healthy and ready to put 2024 behind him. Having the wide receiver involved from the start will be crucial for better integration into the offense and to help build trust with Mahomes on the field.
“Now with hopefully him having the full offseason and training camp and staying healthy and continuing to fight through, his role will expand even more. It’s kind of hard to throw guys in at the end of the season and try to give them a huge role. I think you can see when he gets the football in his hands and he has a huge role in our offense, it makes everybody go,” Mahomes added.
Brown was signed by the Chiefs last offseason on a one-year deal and chose to return to the franchise for this season on another one-year contract worth $7 million, with $6.5 million guaranteed. Injuries have been a recurring issue in his career, with 2021 (while playing for the Baltimore Ravens) being the only season he played all 16 games and also the only year he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards.
The Chiefs will open the season in Brazil on Sept. 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Expectations are high that the team will be at full strength following the Super Bowl loss, now with Rice likely back and Brown better integrated into the offense, complementing Xavier Worthy and JuJu Smith-Schuster in the wide receiver group.