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Will Marquise Brown be healthy enough to play in Week 1? Craig Rondinone breaks down the latest Marquise Brown injury news for fantasy football.
Marquise Brown signed with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in the offseason to provide a deep threat for their offense and to reinvigorate his career after two disappointing, injury-plagued seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
The problem is that a preseason injury might already make Brown’s 2024 campaign as disappointing as his last two. He dislocated his shoulder on the first play of Kansas City’s preseason opener and has not played or practiced since. This comes on the heels of missing eight games over the past two years as a member of the Cardinals.
So will Brown be able to suit up for the Chiefs season opener on Thursday night? Here is the latest.
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Will Marquise Brown Play In Week 1?
If Brown was signed to be a big-play option for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, it appears the receiving corps will be short a home run hitter this Thursday night. Head honcho Andy Reid has stated that Brown is not expected to get on the field against his old team, the Baltimore Ravens.
Chiefs HC Andy Reid says WR Hollywood Brown won't play Week 1 vs. Ravens. pic.twitter.com/ew6u3Y6bgP
— NFL (@NFL) August 30, 2024
This is a shame because Brown probably would have been pumped to play against the team that traded him away after he scored 21 touchdowns for them over his first three NFL seasons. It also delays Brown from being a fantasy option as he may need another game or two before he returns and then will likely be slowly shuffled into the offense since he barely saw any preseason action.
Marquise Brown 2024 Fantasy Outlook
Many fantasy pundits thought Brown was primed for a bounce-back year and could have gotten the second 1,000-yard year of his career because of being featured in a Reid offense with Mahomes throwing to him. The odds of that happening have gotten a lot longer now.
If rookie Xavier Worthy gets out of the gate quickly and WR1 Rashee Rice stays out of trouble (unlike he did in the offseason), Brown will have some catching up to do to gain the confidence of Mahomes and get the target amount he needs to be effective fantasy-wise. He already knows tight end Travis Kelce will get the bulk of the looks.
Brown is still technically listed as “doubtful” for Thursday, but it sounds like he has a better chance of hitting the Powerball than playing. If you already drafted Brown, stash him on your bench and go with another option from your fantasy receiving corps in Week 1. If you have not had your draft yet, drop him a few notches on your cheat sheet but still think about selecting him as your WR5 in the late rounds.
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