While the Kansas City Chiefs are dealing with a number of injuries, none are as concerning for fans wanting to see the team ready for the regular season than the one keeping Marquise “Hollywood” Brown from participating in training camp.
The Chiefs gathered for another day for practice—this time a non-padded one—at St. Joseph, Missouri, and once again, Brown was sidelined from participating. An ankle injury has held him out for several days, which has Chiefs Kingdom wondering whether injuries are going to be an issue once again for Brown early in the season.
To make matters more concerning, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid couldn’t clarify the picture surrounding Brown’s injury or a timetable to potentially return. When asked by reporters about the ankle, Reid insisted that he didn’t think it would come to a worst-case scenario, but that things remain in flux.
Andy Reid’s cryptic update on Hollywood Brown raises red flags at camp
“Making progress, but it’s in that ankle area, so we’re just wanting to make sure that it’s right,” said Reid. “That’s how we want to come out of this thing. He is making progress, but we’ll just see.”
A reporter asking Reid about Brown also pointed back to an earlier report that the ankle injury was nothing serious. Reid’s explanation only added further intrigue as to just how long Brown might be out.
“If I say ‘serious’, I’m talking about surgery, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to have to have surgery, but we’ve gotta let it heal up and go,” said Reid.
The good news for the Chiefs is that the regular season doesn’t begin for several more weeks, when they take the field for an international game against the Los Angeles Chargers in Sao Paulo, Brazil. That gives Brown plenty of time to rest and rehab, and for trainers to do what it takes to get him ready for the regular season.
However, it’s also true that Brown’s injury status was the talking point of the Chiefs’ preseason last year around this time, when he went down with a clavicular injury suffered while making his first catch in an exhibition against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brown would go on to miss every game but two in the regular season.
Brown is a pivotal piece for a Chiefs’ offense that is hoping for a much clearer picture on the health front than last season, when numerous important playmakers were lost for several games (or more) due to injury. That’s a list that included Brown, Rashee Rice, and Isiah Pacheco.
Brown returned to the Chiefs this offseason after returning in time to play in the postseason. He had 9 catches for 91 yards in the regular season for the Chiefs with another 3 catches for 50 yards in the playoffs.
