What happened to Hollywood Brown? Chiefs WR suffers setback in first preseason game vs Jaguars

The Chiefs are the reigning Super Bowl champions but lacked a top-notch wide receiver last year and chose to strengthen that spot with veteran Hollywood Brown this season, along with rookies like Xavier Worthy. But in their first preseason game of 2024 against the Jaguars, they may have returned to square one as a shoulder injury to Brown, right at the beginning of the first quarter, made him questionable to return.

While preseason games are all about allowing rookies and fringe players to claim a stake to make it onto the final roster, Andy Reid decided that an NFL veteran like Hollywood Brown needed to get used to the systems too in a gameday situation.

However, it backfired and now they are waiting to see if he will return for the game and, in the worst-case scenario, if the injury will have an impact going into the season. Head coach Reid later revealed that the player suffered a sternoclavicular joint dislocation, which could rule him out for an extended period.

Hollywood Brown an important part of the Chiefs' jigsaw

Hollywood Brown was brought in to strengthen a Chiefs offense that was uncharacteristically staid during the regular season in 2023.

Travis Kelce used all his experience and intelligence in the postseason to give Patrick Mahomes a target and the defense balled out all year to lead them to the Super Bowl. But they cannot have another season like that in 2024, where the wide receivers are often passengers, rather than contributors, to the team.

To that end, Hollywood Brown was supposed to be the top receiver ahead of players like Mecole Hardman, who are good in bursts. His presence is also crucial because he would be playing opposite Rashee Rice, who himself had his own offseason problems and run-ins with the law that might affect his performance. Xavier Worthy, as the rookie, is likely to also contribute as a starter depending on how he performs in training camp and if he gets a look during preseason.

Therefore, one can see that Hollywood Brown would almost need to be the leader of the wide receiver group if the Chiefs were to get Patrick Mahomes back to his 2023 league MVP form.

But a shoulder injury in the first game of the preseason is hardly the ideal way to start. Andy Reid might be rueing giving him game time to get used to playing with his new teammates, only to be left wondering if his newly recruited veteran wide receiver will be fully fit come Week 1 of the 2024 season.