The Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) offense looked like a fine-tuned machine last Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens (0-1). The team acknowledges room for growth, but Kansas City’s once-sluggish offense is no more.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was 20 of 28 for 291 yards and threw a touchdown and a pick in the home opener. The Chiefs moved the ball with ease as the three-time Super Bowl MVP delivered the ball to eight different receivers. But as strong as Kansas City looked on banner night, fans can only imagine how much more lethal the Chiefs’ passing game will be once Hollywood Brown finally makes his anticipated return.
On Monday, head coach Andy Reid gave an update on Brown’s injury status during his weekly press conference.
“We’ll see how Hollywood [Brown] works out with all of his tests [that] he’s going to have this week,” Reid told reporters during his opening statement. “But we’ll just see where he’s at.”
Brown suffered a sternoclavicular joint injury on August 10 during the Chiefs’ first preseason game. The injury is the same as what former Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill suffered in 2019, which held him out of football for four weeks. Many people have used Hill’s injury as an unofficial timetable for Brown’s return, but Reid says ‘not so fast’.
“With (Miami Dolphins Wide Receiver) Tyreek (Hill), listen, everybody’s different,” Reid began. “But it’s the same type of injury. He’s getting close. I know [Hollywood Brown] is feeling better. We just got to see where it goes from here. They’ve been doing these periodic tests on him and making sure that he’s headed in the right direction and scans and all that. [It] looks like it’s heading in the right direction. Now we just have to see where it goes from there.”
Brown’s injury happened five weeks ago this Saturday, so it’s possible he could play against the Bengals if he continues to progress well this week. Looking back at how the Chiefs treated injured players in the past, it may be more likely that Brown sits another week and they get him ready to play the Falcons in Week 3.
Kansas City already has a high-powered offense and they’ll be even more dangerous once Brown finally returns to the lineup and joins fellow receivers Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Justin Watson.
