Marquise “Hollywood” Brown has waited a long time for this.
When the Kansas City Chiefs take the field in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday night to open the 2025 NFL season against the Los Angeles Chargers, Brown will finally get a prime(time) opportunity to show why he bet on himself (again) this spring.
The former first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal with the Chiefs in the spring of 2024, hoping to revive his career in a high-octane offense with Patrick Mahomes at the helm. That vision was quickly derailed when Brown suffered a clavicle injury trying to make his very first preseason catch against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The injury would cost him nearly the entire regular season.
Brown is ready for the challenge ahead of him as the Chiefs face the Chargers in Sao Paulo.
Now, after re-signing on another one-year deal this offseason, Brown is back in Kansas City with something to prove—and his timing couldn’t be better.
With Rashee Rice suspended and Jalen Royals on the mend, Brown is stepping into a very prominent role from the jump in Week 1. Brown was already an essential part of the team’s offensive plans, but now he and Xavier Worthy have room all to themselves in the spotlight.
When asked about the opportunity before him on Tuesday, before the team’s flight to Brazil, Brown made it clear he’s ready.
“Feeling good, blessed, real good,” said Brown. “Last year was tough for me mentally. So this time around—me, my family, all my coaches, chaplain, everybody—they was there for me. And I feel blessed to be in this position.”
Despite missing every preseason game on the Chiefs’ schedule, Brown also brushed aside any concerns about his readiness. “I don’t really look at it as no challenges,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to play this game for a while. Just excited to get to Brazil.”
As for the added pressure without Rice as a primary outlet for Mahomes, Brown sounded ready to take on the challenge. It’s the same mantle of responsibility that fell on others when he went down with the clavicular injury last summer.
“We know what we can do,” Brown said. “When guys go down, it’s next man up. When I went down, it’s next man up. That’s our mentality throughout the whole team.”
If Brown delivers on the potential he’s confident he still has, he’s not only poised to help the Chiefs make a statement to start the season, but he’s also setting himself up for a much more lucrative spring as an impact receiver with a refreshed résumé.
