Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown needs shoulder surgery

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs will be without a playmaker longer than they initially anticipated. Rick Burkholder, vice president of sports medicine and performance, confirmed on Friday that wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown needs surgery to repair a dislocated sternoclavicular (SC) joint.

Brown suffered the injury on the first play of a preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 10. Just a few days ago the Chiefs felt like he was nearing a return to the field , but a final check revealed a problem he’ll need surgically repaired. The team placed him on injured reserve Friday.

“It was reduced, not surgically, but reduced in Jacksonville. The protocol is that you look at that again in a week to make sure that it’s still in place, and it was,” Burkholder said.

“He was doing great in rehab, he was having no pain, we were discussing return to play opportunities, but we had one last check of another image to do at four weeks from the injury, three weeks from the last MRI, and it looked like the bone had moved.”

Burkholder added that everyone the team consulted with felt it was too risky for Brown to play without surgery, which he’s having on Monday.

Brown posted on X that he’s disappointed and frustrated, but says those emotions didn’t last long.

“I feel it’s my duty to let everyone know out there no matter if things are going good or not going the way you want it to, never wary from your faith but to lean and trust into God no matter the situation…With that being said let’s enjoy some great football !!” Brown posted in part.

The injury means Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense will lean on young receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy even more than they were already planning to. Both performed well in Week 1 against the Ravens with Rice racking up seven catches for 103 yards and Worthy making the most of his three touches, taking two for touchdowns.

Between those two wideouts, tight end Travis Kelce, and running back Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City’s offense still has weapons, but Brown was brought in to provide a big boost to a side that struggled at times with production and dropped passes in 2023.

Coach Andy Reid conceded that this setback is more in terms of months rather than weeks, and his placement on injured reserve means he’ll miss a minimum of four games. Neither Reid nor Burkholder gave a definitive timeline, Reid adding that different people recover at different paces.

Reid said that he feels like his teammates will step up in his absence.

“We’d love to have him, on the other hand I think we’ve got some good guys at that spot, got some depth there, and feel good,” Reid said.

“Things happen in this sport, it’s kind of a freak thing. It’s almost ridiculous that it happened to Tyreek (Hill) and him in the same place, they had the same docs…. next time we play down there (Jacksonville) I’m not going to use any receivers.”

The Chiefs look to improve to 2-0 on Sunday afternoon when they play the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium at 3:25.

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