Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown hospitalized with a sternoclavicular joint injury that will likely see him miss time

The Kansas City Chiefs tempted fate by playing starters in the preseason and they're now likely to be without one of their top free agent signings for the early portion of the 2024 NFL season.

Chiefs HC Andy Reid provided an injury update on WR Hollywood Brown, who left the game with a shoulder injury after the first play on offense. Reid confirmed a significant injury for Brown, which just so happened to be the same injury that Tyreek Hill suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 of the 2019 NFL season.

"As far as the injuries go, Hollywood Brown, he has the same thing that Tyreek Hill had down here, actually," Reid began. "Sternoclavicular posterior dislocation. They'll take him to the hospital, they'll check him out and they'll work on it."

This is an injury that requires medical intervention and oftentimes requires surgery. Chiefs head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder explained why when Hill suffered the injury back in the day.

"[Hill] had a sternoclavicular joint injury which is where your clavicle comes into your sternum," Burkholder said of Hill's injury back in September of 2019 . "Those can be injured coming out the front, up top or in the back. If it goes posteriorly or back it becomes a medical issue for us so that we worry that there's more problems."

Hill avoided surgery and was able to return in four weeks in the middle of October, but that was considered a quick recovery. The timeline for this injury can range from 6-8 weeks depending on the severity and the accompanying damage.

The fact that the Chiefs have dealt with this type of injury before and in a player who plays the same position is a major benefit. However, it's certainly not ideal to see your top free agent acquisition go down with a significant injury in Week 1 of the preseason.

In addition to Hollywood Brown, Chiefs HC Andy Reid confirmed that OL McKade Mettauer has a left knee injury.

Related: Chiefs solved a recurring problem with Andy Reid's offense in preseason Week 1 vs. Jaguars