The Kansas City Chiefs are at home watching the playoffs and have turned their attention to how they improve the roster for the 2026 campaign. The offensive side of the ball will look different next season, which also includes Matt Nagy potentially heading elsewhere.
Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and Jalen Royals are the only three receivers signed to the active roster for the 2026 season, and it appears the chapter on Marquise Brown's story in Kansas City has closed. Brown posted a farewell message to KCKingdom on Instagram, writing, "Memories that last a lifetime going to war with the gang! Thank you ChiefsKingdom."
With him hitting free agency, it seems like the Chiefs will be making significant changes in the receiver room this offseason as the franchise tries to get back to its previous status as a top contender.
Marquise Brown’s Farewell Post Makes It Clear His Chiefs Tenure Will Come to an End
Brown has been with the Chiefs for two years, which overall were a letdown, considering the hype he had when he joined Kansas City in 2024. On the first play of the 2024 preseason game against the Jaguars, he suffered a clavicle injury that forced him to land on IR.
Brown came back for two regular-season games and was part of the postseason run, yet totaled just five receptions for 50 yards in the playoffs. Fast forward to this season, and he suited up in 16 contests, yet his impact was mediocre; he finished the year with 49 catches (74 targets) for 587 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
Although he is known for deep speed that can stretch the field with ease, that wasn't on display as Kansas City envisioned when he came into town. There were high hopes for the trio of Brown, Worthy, and Rice, but nothing was able to take off.
Kansas City will need to find a way this offseason to improve this offense as a whole, especially as Patrick Mahomes rehabs his torn ACL. They are set to enter the offseason with the least amount of cap space in the NFL at -43 million per Spotrac, which means they have to make some cuts and contract restructures to get under the cap.
In other words, they won't have the extra funds to keep Brown after two disappointing seasons, and he knows it. The checklist on offense includes running back, backup QB, and potentially OL. That's not mentioning the need for another receiver, but that player won't be Brown.
Given the financial situation and the team's outlook suddenly looking less rosy, there could be other shakeups to come at WR. Kansas City has big decisions to make on the futures of Rice and Worthy, who while making plays, also come with their own warts. A significant commitment to either wideout is a scary proposition given their underwhelming on-field impact and both dealing with injury troubles.
While Worthy and Rice figure to enter 2026 as the top two receivers, there's still plenty of tweaking Andy Reid could do behind them on the depth chart. Fellow vet Juju Smith-Schuster looks like dead weight that could be shed, meanwhile, Tyquan Thornton may pursue a new home given his lack of 2025 usage. Fourth-round pick Jalen Royals also has zero role guaranteed after his disappointing campaign.
This leaves the back half of the Chiefs' WR depth chart in a pure state of flux as the offseason ramps up.