Chiefs WR Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown not expected to play season opener vs. Ravens

The former first-rounder is slated to miss his first game with the defending Super Bowl champions against his former team.

When the Baltimore Ravens travel to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs onThursday for the 2024 regular season opener, one familiar face isn’t expected to suit up. According to Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid, wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown is unlikely to play.

Brown spent the first three seasons of his career in Charm City after being selected in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft at No. 25 overall. He was General Manager Eric DeCosta’s first-ever pick at the helm of the Ravens’ front office after taking over for Ozzie Newsome.

Following the 2021 season in which Brown had the most productive season of his career thus far, recording his lone 1,000-plus receiving yard season (1,008), he requested to be traded and had it granted on the first night of the 2022 NFL Draft.

With the selection he got in return from the Arizona Cardinals, DeCosta selected Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum at No. 25 overall in the first round. The former Hawkeye established himself as a Day 1 starter, is fresh off his first career Pro Bowl in 2023 and is in the conversation to be the next best player at his position in the league now that future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce is retired.

Meanwhile, Brown didn’t top 709 receiving yards or haul in more than four touchdowns during his two seasons out on the desert and the third-round pick that the Ravens also gave up in the trade was used on undersized defensive end Myjai Sanders who currently isn’t on an NFL roster.

The Chiefs made Brown one of the first offseason moves in the overhaul of a wide receiver depth chart that was much-maligned last season and was what many viewed as the biggest weakness in their quest to repeat. Just because they will likely be without him, it doesn’t mean their vertical passing attack won’t still be dangerous.

In the first round of this year’s draft, they traded up with the Buffalo Bills to select University of Texas speedster Xavier Worthy who broke the NFL Scouting Combine record for the 40-yard dash with a mark of 4.21. Despite being involved in two separate off-the-field incidents in which civilians sustained bodily harm as a result of direct contact with or as a result of his actions, second-year wideout Rashee Rice is not expected to be suspended at all this season. Just this past week, the Chiefs also brought back veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster who was the leading wide receiver of their 2022 Super Bowl winning team.

With or without Brown, Kansas City’s offense will be a handful to deal with regardless of the other weapons they have at their disposal, the generational quarterback they have under center and the schematic mastermind that is Reid dialing up plays.