Is Hollywood Brown playing on Christmas? Exploring Chiefs WR's status for Steelers clash

Wide receiver Hollywood Brown signed a one-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs in the last offseason, but he did not make his season debut until Week 16, during the win over the Houston Texans.

Last week, Brown was activated off the injured reserve list in time for the Saturday afternoon matchup. After that, coach Andy Reid declared that the star receiver had a decent chance of playing for the first time since he underwent surgery in September to fix a dislocated sternoclavicular joint in his shoulder. He suffered the injury during the preseason in August.

It first appeared unlikely that Brown would make a comeback to the field this regular season, but he was ultimately granted the all-clear to play last week after receiving medical clearance to resume practice. Despite being involved in only 20 of Kansas City's 74 offensive snaps versus Houston, he took advantage of his opportunities, amassing 45 yards from five passes on eight targets.

Exploring Hollywood Brown's availability status for Christmas Day vs. Steelers

Hollywood Brown is expected to play his second consecutive game since returning from injury when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Christmas Day showdown on Wednesday.

Brown will likely be eased in by the Chiefs, considering he stayed on injured reserve for 14 weeks. However, he's still expected to feature, probably not significantly, against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.

Brown, who only agreed to a one-year contract in March, will be hoping to have the chance to have a significant enough influence to secure a good deal for the following season when he becomes a free agent.

In 72 career games, 65 of which were starts, Hollywood Brown has 313 receptions for 3,644 yards and 28 touchdowns. He recorded a season with 1,000 yards with the Baltimore Ravens In 2021.

Brown had a solid performance in his first regular season game of the year last weekend, especially considering that it was his first competitive matchup since January.

When asked about Brown, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said:

“I thought he did a great job. I missed him here and there on a couple of throws, but I thought he was getting open. He was winning against man coverage, which was huge.”

Ahead of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17, the Chiefs now have a receiving corps that can dominate most defenses in the league, including Hollywood Brown, first-round pick Xavier Worthy, five-time Pro Bowler DeAndre Hopkins and nine-time Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce.