Chiefs Wide Receivers Are In Flux Due To Hollywood Brown And Xavier Worthy

The Kansas City Chiefs are re-signing wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. And it’s possible they could use him now more than ever.

Brown, who turns 28 in June, is getting a raise from last year’s $7 million deal after ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that he is signing a one-year contract worth up to $11 million.

That raise is mostly based on potential. Brown, who has three seasons of more than 700 receiving yards, was the talk of training camp before injuring his shoulder during his first play of the preseason.

He ended up having surgery and missing all but two regular-season games. His final regular-season numbers were nine catches for 91 yards.

Bringing Brown back in the fold potentially gives Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs a great series of targets, which includes tight end Travis Kelce, who announced he is returning for a 13th year, Rashee Rice, who is returning from a knee injury, and 2024 first-round draft pick Xavier Worthy.

But the status of the latter two receivers could be in doubt.

Worthy and Rice Have Legal Issues

Worthy was arrested Friday night in Williamson County, Texas, on a charge of assault of a family or house member by impeding their breathing or circulation.

Worthy, who went to Texas, is not the only Chiefs receiver with Lone Star roots who might face a suspension.

Rice, a 2023 second-round pick, starred at SMU. After his promising rookie season, he was involved in a hit-and-run incident for which he has not yet faced NFL discipline.

If Worthy receives an NFL suspension, it could rob the Chiefs of one of their most promising young players.

“The kid every week has just gotten better and better,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said late in the 2024 season. “And he’s really put together a nice half of the season the second half.”

During his last two games of the playoffs, the 2024 first-round pick undoubtedly was the Chiefs’ best skill player.

Super Bowl Star

He had six catches for 85 yards and touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game. Then in Super Bowl LIX, he led all receivers with 157 yards on eight catches, including two touchdowns.

His last touchdown was a 50-yard bomb, which represented the final points in the Super Bowl and the 2024 season.

The rookie’s 2024 regular-season stats were impressive. Worthy, who is on a four-year, $13.8 million deal, caught 59 catches for 638 yards while scoring nine touchdowns.

And then he was one of the few bright spots in the Chiefs’ 40-22 loss in Super Bowl LIX.

Immediately after that game, Worthy said he was going to follow Reid’s advice and use the defeat as motivation in 2025.

“Nobody expected it to come out 24-0, but we fought at the end of the day. We just gotta be better,” he said. “Use this as fuel for training camp, go 10 times more in shape, 10 times better and 10 times stronger.”