As it was the expectation that Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Hollywood Brown would miss the opener, it has been officially confirmed via the team that he will not play against the Baltimore Ravens Thursday night according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Brown injured his shoulder during the Chiefs’ preseason opener and had been recovering from it ever since.
Kansas City acquired Brown as another receiving threat for superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but fans will have to wait a little longer to see their connection. Mahomes will have to lean on such players as star tight end Travis Kelce, receiver Rashee Rice, and rookie Xavier Worthy.
Brown had started his career with the Baltimore Ravens where he spent three seasons before playing two years after with the Arizona Cardinals which then led to signing with the Chiefs. Last season, Brown caught 51 passes for 574 yards to go along with four touchdowns.
It was already going to be a hard time for Brown to play as combining the recovery with the short week the Chiefs are on since it is a Thursday night game, the expectation came true from Schefter. However, there could be some positivity as Chiefs general manager did say that Brown was “trending in the right direction” last Thursday when speaking to the media.
“I don’t like talking about medical because if I say something and he’s ahead of that timeline or behind that timeline then I don’t want to put any more pressure on the kid,” Veach said, via transcript from the team. “I probably can confidently say it was similar to Tyreek, and I think given that timeline I think it falls within the timeline that Tyreek went through, but I know he’s here every day. He’s to the point now where he can laugh without pain, so that’s a good thing.”
“He’s certainly trending in the right direction,” Veach continued Thursday. “And look, there was a reason why we didn’t put him on the IR to start the season.”
As mentioned before, Brown’s involvement with the Chiefs was a plan to help Mahomes as the wide receiver play last season was filled with disappointment except for Rice. Mahomes spoke about the injury to Brown and said that while the team has to do without him, it is rough since he had a “good understanding of what I want.”
“I guess we’re lucky that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” Mahomes said earlier this month. “We lose a little bit of that veteran-type receiver in that room. We have other guys that can replace him a little bit, but to have that much talent, hopefully we’re getting him back sooner rather than later.”
“We’ve just got to keep pushing those young [receivers] to keep getting…better every day,” Mahomes continued.
At any rate, the Chiefs opens the season Thursday night against the Ravens who they beat the AFC Championship game last season as no doubt they are looking for revenge. As for Kansas City, they are coming off of a Super Bowl win as this season they are on the quest to win their third straight, fourth total under Mahomes.
