With 19 players set to hit unrestricted free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs weren’t able to keep everyone on their roster. But on Saturday, they announced a deal to retain one of their top targets.
According to multiple reports, the Chiefs agreed to a deal with wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown on a one-year, $11million contract.
Brown missed a majority of the past season with a freak injury, but is now set to keep his place in Kansas City.
It’s a slight raise from the one-year, $7million contract that he signed last season at the age of 26.
Last year, Brown played in two games and started in just one before suffering from a sternoclavicular injury in the preseason.
The sternoclavicular joint is located at the junction of the collarbone and the breast bone and it kept Brown out a majority of the campaign.
The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to keep receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown
Brown missed a majority of the season after suffering a joint injury in the preseason
Brown did play in two regular season games as well as the playoffs – including Super Bowl LIX
He returned in time to play in Weeks 16 and 17 of the season, catching nine passes for 91 yards.
Brown also played in all three of Kansas City’s playoff games on the run to Super Bowl LIX. Across the playoffs, Brown caught a total of five passes for 50 yards.
In the 40-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Brown caught two passes for 15 yards.
‘Hollywood’ Brown, the cousin of former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, is a former first round pick to the Baltimore Ravens out of Oklahoma.
He also played two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before signing for Kansas City last offseason.
Across his NFL career, Brown has hauled in 322 catches across 74 games played. He’s racked up a total of 3,735 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Inking Brown to a deal solves just one of the free agency issues that the Chiefs have ahead of them this offseason.
According to Spotrac, the Chiefs are in the red on cap space by hundreds of thousands of dollars as they have the eighth biggest total cap in the league.
Four WRs, who caught a combined 1,047 yards and 8 TDs from Patrick Mahomes could leave
Receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (L) and DeAndre Hopkins (R) could hit free agency soon
Despite this, the Chiefs are set to lose 25 free agents this offseason – including 18 unrestricted free agents set to hit the open market.
Among the most notable include safety Justin Reid, defensive end Charles Omenihu, outside linebacker Josh Uche, and middle linebacker Nick Bolton. Offensive free agents include running backs Kareem Hunt and Samaje Perine.
But no position has the potential for a bigger overhaul than wide receiver. Even after signing Brown, the Chiefs could potentially lose pass catchers DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Watson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Mecole Hardman.
Combined, those four wide receivers accounted for 1,047 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 3,928 yards and 26 touchdowns in the regular season.
The NFL’s new league year and the opening of free agency officially takes place next Wednesday, March 12.
