Marquise Brown, the man they call “Hollywood,” is a free agent again. A former first-round receiver out of Oklahoma by the Ravens in 2019, he spent three seasons in Baltimore, helping QB Lamar Jackson win his first MVP award. After a 1,000-yard season in 2021, he was traded to the Cardinals, spending two years there but never quite reaching the heights he did in Baltimore.
Last offseason, he signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Chiefs worth $7 million. Unfortunately, he dislocated his shoulder in the first preseason game, missing most of the season with the injury. Brown returned for two games near the end of the regular season, catching nine passes as he eased his way back into the offense, but didn’t make much of an impact during Kansas City’s run to the Super Bowl, leaving him about right back where he started from a year ago.
At his best, Brown is one of the best deep threats in the NFL, but he’s not limited to purely that role. Excluding last season, he’s earned over 100 targets in four of his five NFL seasons. He can be a valuable part of a passing attack, as he’s a legitimate threat at all three levels of the field with excellent route running skills and pure speed to burn defenses consistently.
The asterisk with Brown is his health. He’s missed time due to injury each of the last three seasons, most notably last year in Kansas City. Because of his health concerns and smaller stature, he’s probably capped out as a strong No. 2 option in an offense if he can stay healthy.
Coming off the injury and some mediocre years in Arizona, Brown’s market isn’t likely to be strong. He’s probably looking at another one-year flier in the $4-6 million range.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs’ approach to free agency will be interesting to watch. They’re currently over $3 million in the red, having already traded G Joe Thuney to the Bears for some cap relief. They also have other pending free agents that they’ll have to make decisions on, including LB Nick Bolton, S Justin Reid and DT Tershawn Wharton. If they can lock up a long-term deal with G Trey Smith, currently on the franchise tag, they could clear quite a bit of cap space. Restructures of other long-term contracts on the books could help as well.
But the fit is too clean to ignore. Kansas City had well-documented offensive issues last season, not reaching the elite standards set under HC Andy Reid and QB Patrick Mahomes. Lack of production in the receiving game was a big part of those struggles, as Brown’s injury was compounded by TE Travis Kelce’s decline and WR Rashee Rice’s own significant injury.
Fellow wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Watson and Mecole Hardman are all pending free agents. Rice is rehabbing his multi-ligament knee injury and his status for the start of the season is up in the air. That leaves just 2024 first-rounder Xavier Worthy as the only returning receiver to play meaningful snaps last season, and his ability to be a No. 1 option remains unknown. Rice will be ready to play at some point next season, but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll need some time to get his legs back under him, and the Chiefs need more weapons anyway.
Brown slots in perfectly next to Worthy and Rice in this offense. He stretches defenses downfield, while Rice attacks over the middle in the short-to-intermediate levels and Worthy can play his gadget role. The speed this offense would possess would tax defenses, perhaps opening up more space underneath for Kelce to operate. This was likely the vision Kansas City decision makers had for the offense last year, before Brown’s shoulder injury. He shouldn’t cost too much to bring back, either.
Los Angeles Chargers
What if Brown hopped to a division rival? The Chargers have a need at receiver — with Josh Palmer a free agent, Ladd McConkey is the only sure contributor they have at that position. Los Angeles took a step forward in the first season under HC Jim Harbaugh, making the playoffs and playing the Chiefs tough, but they still have a long way to go to be true contenders.
The Chargers have a whopping $90.7 million in cap space available, thanks in part to the release of ED Joey Bosa. That’s good, because they have a lot of holes to fill on their roster, including at tight end, running back, defensive tackle, and edge rusher. This draft is deep at all four of those positions, making wide receiver a position they may want to tackle in free agency, at least to keep their options open.
McConkey is a slot possession receiver, a dynamic and productive one at that. But he needs help, and Brown does a lot of things he can’t. While they certainly need more than just one addition at receiver, signing Brown would instantly make the Los Angeles offense more explosive.
Chicago Bears
The Bears need some speed. Chicago GM Ryan Poles and new HC Brian Johnson wasted no time in beefing up the interior of the Bears’ offensive line, trading for Gs Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney. They’re also reportedly targeting Falcons C Drew Dalman in free agency. With over $48 million in cap space, they have the money to do some damage on the open market.
But lost amid last season’s woeful offensive line struggles was the lack of team speed on offense. Neither D.J. Moore nor 2024 first-rounder Rome Odunze are elite speed threats, with Odunze more of a downfield possession receiver and Moore better described as quick than fast. Trade acquisition Keenan Allen was 32 last year and has clearly lost a step. Now he’s a pending free agent and there’s room in the starting lineup for a new addition.
Brown would provide a major jolt of speed to an offense that desperately needs it. Former No. 1 QB Caleb Williams has a big arm and could take the top off defenses in tandem with Brown. It’s also worth considering that Chicago has big needs along the defensive line and could also use their top draft assets to bring in young, ascending offensive linemen for the future. Plus, they just selected Odunze in the first round last year. Brown would be a cheap option to improve their passing game while saving their top draft picks for other positions.
Other teams to watch: Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams
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