Chiefs’ Marquise Brown ‘getting close’ to playing, though status for Week 2 vs Cincy remains unclear

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown is “getting close” to being able to play, coach Andy Reid said Monday, though he declined to say whether there was a chance their big free-agent acquisition would be on the field for Week 2 against Cincinnati.

Brown dislocated the sternoclavicular joint in his shoulder in the Chiefs’ preseason opener. It is similar to the injury then-Kansas City wide receiver Tyreek Hill sustained in Week 1 of the 2019 season, causing him to miss the next four weeks.

It would be about five weeks since Brown’s injury when the Chiefs play the Bengals on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Listen, everybody is different,” Reid told local reporters on a conference call. “I know he’s feeling better. We’ve got to just kind of see where it goes from here. They’ve been doing these periodic tests on him, making sure he’s headed in the right directions.”

Brown was present but did not participate in practice last week before their 27-20 victory over the Ravens on Thursday night.

The Chiefs still got solid production from their wide receivers in their Week 1 win, especially first-round draft pick Xavier Worthy, who caught two passes for 47 yards and a touchdown while taking a handoff 21 yards for another score.

“I thought he did a nice job there,” Reid said. “He can go down the field when needed — I know it was a busted coverage (on his TD catch). He does have speed and some versatility going across the middle; he had a nice grab across the middle. I think the teams we play will see that. If they didn’t know it before, they know it now.”

Second-year pro Rashee Rice had seven catches for 103 yards, and Justin Watson hauled in a 25-yard reception on his only target. JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had just a couple of practices under his belt after he was released by the Patriots and returned to Kansas City, had a chance to make a catch at the goal line but was unable to hang onto the ball.

Now, the Chiefs would like to see the full potential off their offense with “Hollywood” Brown on the field.

“I think everybody accepts everybody in this offense, and they learn so much from Travis (Kelce). They pick his brain and they listen to him talk to me, and we build all throughout the year,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “You can see Rashee just kind of picked up right where he left off last year. Xavier made some big plays. We’re going to continue to build and build, and hopefully get Hollywood back and see what this offense can really be.”