The big news in Chiefs Kingdom on Thursday is the latest update on Rashee Rice's potential suspension. A discipline hearing has been set for September 30, meaning he will be able to play the first four games of the season before serving a potential suspension. There are some reasons that this could sneakily be bad news for the Chiefs.
But for one individual Chief, this couldn't be any more perfect. Hollywood Brown is on thin ice after an incredibly disappointing start to his Chiefs career, but he's about to be handed the perfect opportunity he could ask for.
Hollywood Brown’s Fortunes Take a Huge Turn with Rashee Rice Discipline Hearing Reportedly Set
The new timeline for Rice's discipline lines up in a completely ideal way for Brown. Rice playing for four games and then missing three (or even if we think about more worrying scenarios like missing five or eight) is far better for Hollywood than if the suspension started in Week 1.
Consider who the Chiefs' opponents are for those first four games: the Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Baltimore Ravens. That's three opponents who ranked top-10 against the pass last season, according to PFF grades. That's a stretch that pits Chiefs WRs against Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Marlon Humphrey. That's a stretch where Brown could really use Rice's presence to draw away some of the attention of opposing secondaries.
So for four games, Brown may not be the No. 1 receiver in the offense, but his job is made a lot easier because of it. And then things get really interesting.
After that come the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Las Vegas Raiders. If Rice's suspension follows what happened with Jordan Addison, those would likely be his three missed games. The Jags and Raiders have inarguably two of the worst secondaries in the NFL. Brown needs no help from Rice to take advantage of those matchups, and he'd be set for a significant increase in targets.
At that point, we'll have a clear answer on Brown's value in this offense. If there's any hope of Hollywood redeeming himself in Year 2 with the Chiefs (which is, notably, a contract year), then he'll have firmly proven it by Week 7.
Of course, the other side of the coin is that if he hasn't done it by then, it will be crystal clear that there's no reason for the Chiefs to keep him around any longer.