The Kansas City Chiefs have been ravaged by offensive injuries. The first one was Hollywood Brown, who went down on his first play of the preseason. It’s been over three months, but the speedy WR appears to be nearing a return from a serious shoulder injury. What is the latest on Brown’s status?
What Is Hollywood Brown’s Injury?
The Chiefs lost Brown at the very beginning of their first preseason game. He caught his first and only target, fell on his shoulder, and did not return.
After the game, it was reported that Brown suffered a sternoclavicular joint injury similar to the one Tyreek Hill sustained in 2019. That injury only cost Hill four games. However, SC joint injuries are rare and can be very dangerous if not handled properly. Unfortunately for Brown, his injury required surgery to repair, resulting in a far lengthier absence.
When Will Brown Return From Injury?
Brown has been on injured reserve since September, and we haven’t really gotten an update…until mid-November. The WR tweeted out a simple emoji.
Last Wednesday (Nov. 20), Andy Reid said that Brown was “making very good progress.” A more definitive report came from NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, who reported before Week 13 that Brown was planning on meeting with his surgeon before Week 15 in hopes of getting cleared to play by Week 16 or 17.
The Chiefs haven’t opened his 21-day window to return to practice and ramp-up, but that sounds like that could be approaching imminently.
How Has Brown’s Absence Impacted the Chiefs?
Without Brown, WR Xavier Worthy was thrust into an immediate starting role. There have been some highs but mostly just disappointment. The rookie is very fast but is clearly unpolished as a receiver. He’s been prone to mental errors, most notably an inability to get his feet in bounds on wide-open receptions near the sideline.
Once Rashee Rice was lost as well, some people thought Worthy was poised to see even more work. That never really tracked, though, as Worthy’s role was what it was — he and Rice are nothing alike.
Instead, it was Smith-Schuster who stepped into the Rice role. Smith-Schuster performed admirably in his first game without Rice, catching seven passes for 130 yards in their Week 5 win over the New Orleans Saints. The hamstring strain set him back, though, and he’s yet to eclipse 10 receiving yards since returning.
All of these injuries compelled the Chiefs to make a move at the deadline, acquiring veteran WR DeAndre Hopkins from the Tennessee Titans. Hopkins has been a crucial add, even in a reduced role at age 32. Since making his Chiefs debut in Week 8, he ranks second on the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, while also catching over 70% of his targets.
Even with Hopkins, the depletion at WR has caused Patrick Mahomes to rely more on Travis Kelce than the team had intended. The plan was to not overload Kelce during the regular season to keep him fresh for the playoffs. However, Kelce has instead played over 80% of the team’s snaps this season, his highest rate in a season since 2019.
All this has created a less explosive Chiefs offense that is highly reliant on maintaining a high success rate that allows them to barely stay on schedule. It’s worked just well enough so far, with a litany of close escapes putting Kansas City in a position to earn the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
The hope would be that Brown could help manufacture some of that explosiveness to increase the Chiefs’ margin for error. With Worthy’s mistake-prone style making for a risky proposition in the playoffs, it’s possible Kansas City could park its rookie on the bench and insert Brown into his role instead. Even if Brown’s first regular season in Kansas City is a wash, he could easily make up for it with a critical moment or two in the postseason.
