The Kansas City Chiefs have secured their new starting wide receiver to pair with 2023 breakout rookie Rashee Rice and superstar tight end Travis Kelce, and it’s a player that the franchise has been connected to for years.
“Source: [Arizona] Cardinals WR [Marquise] Hollywood Brown is signing with the Chiefs,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport relayed late on the evening March 14, adding: “Another high-octane target for Patrick Mahomes.”
“One of the most talented WRs available,” he continued, “Brown lands in a perfect spot on a 1-year deal worth up to $11M with a chance to cash in next year.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported this story around the exact same moment as Rapoport, with his own personal touch on the news. “During his final season in Baltimore in 2021, Brown had 91 catches for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns,” Schefter noted. “During 26 games over two seasons in Arizona, Brown had 118 catches for 1,283 yards and seven TDs.”
Despite this reveal occurring after 10:30 p.m. EST on Thursday night, one person was seemingly ready for it — Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. He reacted with one simple emoji after seeing that the deal was finalized: “😁.”
😁
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) March 15, 2024
The Chiefs QB restructured his contract once again in 2024, but the front office hasn’t typically utilized newfound money at wide receiver. It’s nice to see Kansas City finally land a pass-catcher in NFL free agency that puts a big old smile on Mahomes’ face.
New Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown Is Former First-Round Talent of Ravens
Brown has had a topsy-turvy career since being selected 25th overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 2019.
The 5-foot-9 burner hit the ground running with 584 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, followed by 769 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in year two. Brown continued that steady progression into a true WR1 in year three, with the aforementioned 1,000-yard campaign that Schefter spoke of — plus another six touchdowns.
And that’s where his career took a turn.
The Ravens decided to trade Brown at his peak rather than extend him long-term, packaging him with a mid-round pick for the Cardinals’ first-round selection in 2022. From there, the explosive wideout never quite lived up to expectations in Arizona.
Brown has missed a total of eight games over the past two campaigns with the Cardinals, falling short of 1,000 yards in both. His touchdown totals have also been down in Arizona, and his catch rate took a nosedive to a career-low 50.5% in 2023.
To be clear, Brown’s catch percentage has typically been up over 62.0% throughout his NFL tenure, but he hasn’t always maintained that level of consistency.
This one-year contract with Mahomes and the Chiefs should act as a “prove-it” deal for Brown. If he performs, the 26-year-old could use this season to springboard himself into a long-term offer — similar to JuJu Smith-Schuster’s brief run in KC.
Chiefs Re-Sign DT Derrick Nnadi in NFL Free Agency
It was a busy night for the Chiefs front office on March 14. A couple of hours before the Brown news, Kansas City managed to retain starting nose tackle Derrick Nnadi for what will be his seventh straight campaign with the organization.
His player agency SportsTrust Advisors announced the reunion on X.
A durable and consistent staple of the Chiefs defense since 2018, Nnadi is not known to fill up the stat sheet. He plays his role as a gap-clogger next to Chris Jones and that gameplan has led to three Super Bowl rings for the pair of interior D-linemen.
In 2023, Nnadi started all 17 outings, finishing with 29 total tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss and one pass defense. As stated above, it’s not a flashy job, but there’s a reason defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo keeps bringing the former third-round pick back.
