Despite 'incredible' progress, Chiefs will not have key WR for season opener

When the Kansas City Chiefs open the 2024 NFL regular season on Thursday night, they will not have one of their top wide receivers.

Head coach Andy Reid announced on Friday that Marquise "Hollywood" Brown will be out of the lineup due to a dislocated shoulder he suffered on the team's first offensive snap of the preseason, according to Adam Teicher of ESPN. Despite his absence, Brown is actually making "incredible" progress, Reid said. Kansas City will take his return to the lineup on a week-by-week basis.

The Chiefs signed Brown this offseason to a one-year deal in the hopes that he could help add some depth and playmaking to a position that was the team's biggest weakness during the 2023 season.

Brown appeared in 14 games for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2023 season, catching 51 passes for 574 yards and four touchdowns.

While those numbers might seem pedestrian, it was a down year for Brown. Even still, that production was better than every wide receiver on the Chiefs besides rookie Rashee Rice.

Despite the lack of depth at the position, the Chiefs still won the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. If they can get a big year out of Brown and improve the one position that held back their offense, it would give them a legitimate chance to be the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls in NFL history.