Brown joined the Chiefs via a one-year deal signed in March, supplying Kansas City with a weapon at a position group that lacked in 2023. A month later, the Chiefs drafted Texas speedster Xavier Worthy, giving Patrick Mahomes a couple of much-needed reinforcements entering 2024.

Brown has one 1,000-yard season to his name in his five NFL seasons, but also spent the first three campaigns playing in Baltimore’s run-first offense before the Ravens traded him to Arizona for a first-round pick. Since then, he’s played in 26 total games for the rebuilding Cardinals, and didn’t get to share the field with his former Oklahoma teammate Kyler Murray until Week 10 of 2023, spending just four games together before Brown’s season ended.

Ideally, Brown’s pairing with Mahomes unlocks the big-play artist we haven’t seen consistently since his days with the Sooners. His injury could hamper their build-up prior to the start of the regular season, but the news Reid delivered Monday is still better than the alternative.