Chiefs

Chiefs make their biggest offensive splash in free agency with WR Hollywood Brown

The Kansas City Chiefs have made their most significant offensive move in free agency.

Late Thursday night, Kansas City agreed to a deal with former Arizona Cardinals receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown; the contract is one-year for $7 million, though it could reach up to $11 million with incentives, The Star has confirmed.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was first to report the agreement.

Brown confirmed the signing on his X account late Thursday, tweeting out, “Blessed Beyond Measures… ChiefsKingdom Let’s Rock.”

The 26-year-old Brown ranked as the 17th-best free agent on Pro Football Focus’ Top 200 list this offseason. Known as a speedster, the 5-foot-9 Brown had his best year with Baltimore in 2021, catching 91 passes for 1,008 yards with six touchdowns.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes seemed pleased with the news Thursday night, tweeting a beaming face emoji on his X account.

Brown immediately profiles as the Chiefs’ field-stretching receiver to replace Marquez Valdes-Scantling, whom the team made the decision to release last month.

Though the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII, they spent most of last season looking for better consistency at wideout. They battled drops and had too many miscommunications with Mahomes, which often left the offense looking disjointed.

Brown, who played collegiately at Oklahoma, was selected by the Ravens with the 25th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent three years there before getting traded to Arizona in 2022 for a first-round pick.

During this past season with the Cardinals, Brown battled ailments most of the year. He was put on the team’s injury report at different times for thumb and hamstring problems before a heel issue eventually landed him on injured reserve in Week 16.

Brown had 51 catches for 574 yards with four TDs in 14 games last season.

The Star’s Sam McDowell contributed to this report.

Jesse Newell
The Kansas City Star
Jesse Newell covered the Chiefs for The Star until August 2025. He won an EPPY for best sports blog and previously was named top beat writer in his circulation by AP’s Sports Editors. His interest in sports analytics comes from his math teacher father, who handed out rulers to Trick-or-Treaters each year.
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