"It stunk" - Patrick Mahomes makes feelings known on Hollywood Brown’s 'freak deal' injury as WR makes comeback at Chiefs minicamp

Hollywood Brown was selected in the first round, No. 25 overall by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2019 NFL Draft. After spending the first three seasons of his career with the Ravens and establishing himself as one of the best WR's in the league, he moved on to the Arizona Cardinals, where he spent another two campaign's, before signing with the Kansas City Chiefs prior to the start of last season.

However, in preseason last year, Brown suffered a major sternoclavicular joint injury, one that cost him the majority of the 2024 season. Last year, he finished the regular season with nine receptions for 91 receiving yards and no receiving touchdowns in two games played. In the playoffs, he had five receptions for 50 receiving yards and no receiving touchdowns in three games played.

Clearly not himself in 2024, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes made clear that the loss of Brown was difficult for himself and Kansas City. NFL analyst for ESPN Adam Teicher released an article highlighting the quotes by Mahomes, which can be found in full using the following link.

"You all saw it in training camp, how special of a football player he is... For him to get injured in kind of a freak deal there in the first play of the preseason, it stunk. I was happy to have him back at the end of the season and him to get back within the offense... Now with hopefully him having the full offseason and training camp..., his role will expand even more." Mahomes said.

Can Hollywood Brown establish himself as the WR1 in Kansas City?

Although he is expected to play a major role in the offense in 2025, it is unlikely that Brown will be the alpha WR1 of the Chiefs offense. The unit also features stars in Xavier Worthy, Travis Kelce, and Rashee Rice, something that will likely not change during the upcoming campaign.

However, Mahomes has proven during his career that he enjoys spreading the ball around and getting various offensive playmakers involved, something that should help Brown establish a major role on a Chiefs team that will be looking to make up for the terrible Super Bowl 59 showing they had earlier in February.