Chiefs' Brown won't play opener vs. Ravens due to shoulder injury
The Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the 2024 season without one of their main free-agent acquisitions.
Wide receiver Marquise Brown won't play Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens, head coach Andy Reid announced Friday, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN.
Brown went down with a shoulder injury during the Chiefs' preseason opener. He didn't need surgery but sustained a sternoclavicular posterior dislocation. Reid previously compared Brown's injury to an ailment that sidelined former Chiefs pass-catcher Tyreek Hill for four games in 2019.
Kansas City general manager Brett Veach recently expressed optimism regarding Brown, who joined the Chiefs this past season on a one-year contract.
"He's certainly trending in the right direction, and look, there was a reason why we didn't put him on the IR to start the season," Veach said, according to Pro Football Talk's Myles Simmons.
Bolstering the wide receiver position was a priority for Kansas City this year after the team struggled with drops in 2023. In addition to signing Brown, the Chiefs used a first-round pick on wideout Xavier Worthy in April. The reigning Super Bowl champions' WR depth chart also features Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore, Justin Watson, Mecole Hardman, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Brown, 27, projects to be a great fit on the Chiefs' offense due to his speed. However, availability has been an issue for the 2019 first-round pick, as he missed eight games over the last two seasons as a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Co. enter the 2024 season trying to become the first team ever to win a Super Bowl three-peat.