Patrick Mahomes faces a severe blow when the Chiefs lose Hollywood Brown, a seasoned receiving target.
Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is expected to miss the entire 2024 regular season after his shoulder recovery took
A highly scrutinized Kansas City Chiefs receiving corps suffered another setback Saturday as a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is expected to miss the 2024 regular season due to an upcoming surgery for his sternoclavicular shoulder injury.
Brown arrived in Kansas City over the offseason after five stellar campaigns with Baltimore and Arizona, with his year-ending diagnosis coming after contrasting reporting within the Chiefs camp.
The veteran receiver missed Kansas City’s first game of the season, a 27-20 thriller against his former AFC North ballclub, but there was some optimism that Brown could return as early as Week 2 against Cincinnati. “He’s getting close. I know he’s feeling better,” Reid said of Brown to ESPN.com’s Adam Teicher.
‌Brown is expected to miss the 2024 regular season after sustaining a shoulder injury (Photo: Kevin Sabitus, Getty)
However, reporting from The Athletic Friday painted a much bleaker picture, as Chiefs vice president of sports medicine and performance Rick Burkholder noted that, after conducting an MRI on Brown as the final step in his recovery process, the franchise learned that the injured bone had moved. Brown was placed on injured reserve Friday, designated for players expected to miss at least four weeks of action, before the following afternoon’s news.
Brown starred for two seasons at Oklahoma, where he captivated the attention of NFL scouts and earned his instantly identifiable nickname during a standout 2018 season. He racked up more than 1,300 yards that year, 58 of which came on a long touchdown reception against UCLA as FOX’s Gus Johnson delivered the now-iconic commentary: “Hollywood! Lights, camera, action.”
‌The 5’9 speedster was drafted with the No. 25 overall pick and immediately contributed 584 yards in his rookie season as quarterback Lamar Jackson went on to win the MVP Award. Brown’s best season came in 2021, where he eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving and contributed 41 first downs, and despite less productive campaigns in Arizona the last two years, he expressed excitement about a change of scenery in Kansas City.
“That’s probably what I’m excited about the most being here is to just put my best foot forward and show what I could do,” Brown said after signing with the Chiefs. “I feel like I’ll be able to showcase my skill set.
‌”I feel like I can affect all three levels of the game — short, intermediate, and deep. I feel like [at] times in Baltimore and in Arizona I showed facets of things that I could do but not on a consistent basis. So I feel here guys are interchangeable. We can complement each other and that way the best can come out of everyone.”
Brown’s offseason contract was a 1-year, $7 million deal, which makes the 27-year-old an unrestricted free agent entering the 2025 season. Mahomes’ receiving corps now takes on a particularly young profile, led by rookie Xavier Worthy and second-year star Rashee Rice.
Baltimore Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy blasted the Kansas City Chiefs medical staff for their inactions after he suffered an eye injury Thursday’s loss last week in the NFL’s 2024-25 season opener.
“I was disappointed in the way the training staff of the Chiefs handled the situation,” Van Noy said on his podcast Tuesday. “I was supposed to see an ophthalmologist … and they took an entire quarter to get down to talk to me in the locker room — which, to me, is unacceptable.”
“Which, to me, is unacceptable, because then you start thinking, ‘What if I was trying to go back in the game? What if I was really, really hurt?'” he added.
‌Van Noy suffered a right orbital lobe fracture in the third quarter while rushing quarterback Patrick Mahomes. According to ESPN, The injury occurred when his helmet went under his chin strap while he was at the bottom of a pile that included Mahomes and Baltimore defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike.
The Chiefs have yet to comment on the remarks by Van Noy, who has been in the league since 2014 and with the Ravens since 2023.
“The way it took time was super unprofessional to me, especially because there were people in there, too,” Van Noy said on “The McNoy and Van Noy Podcast.” One of the doctors, or the friend of the doctor was in there double-cup fisted, styrofoam cups like everything was good and I just felt that was unprofessional.”
Van Noy did praise the emergency room staff at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City for the eventual treatment they gave him.
‌Van Noy also remarked on the most recent NFL Players Association report card in which the Chiefs received an “F” for their training staff.
“I understand how Kansas City, the players have given that training room an F,” Van Noy added, “because with my experience, I would have probably gave them an F, too.”
In the report card, the Chiefs also received an “F” for their nutritionist, locker room, and club owner Clark Hunt.
According to Arrowhead Pride: “The report says the Chiefs have the second-worst training staff in the NFL, again stemming from what they list this year as “the head trainer.” Last year’s report made it clear his staff members were well-liked. Chiefs’ trainers received the league’s lowest score for contributions to their team’s success. It sounds like some players feel like the trainers are selective in which players they would be willing to treat. The training staff dipped from D- in 2022 to F in 2023.”
In April, Van Noy signed a two-year, $10 million contract extension with the Ravens.
