The Kansas City Chiefs may have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but several players still had plenty to play for in Week 16. That's especially the case with guys like free agents-to-be, like wideout Marquise "Hollywood" Brown, who hasn't been meeting expectations this season.
Fellow WRs Rashee Rice and Tyquan Thornton were out against the Tennessee Titans, opening up the door for the former Baltimore Ravens draft pick to make a case for himself. Instead, another no-show may have sealed his exit from the Chiefs this offseason.
Chiefs Can't Bring Hollywood Brown Back Next Season
Despite having his best snaps share since Week 3 (53.3%) and his first game with three-plus targets since Week 1, Brown only managed to average 7.3 yards on his trio of receptions. He had averaged at least 10.0 yards per catch in each of his last five games before that, underscoring how underwhelming his latest performance was.
Of course, the context didn't do much to help. Patrick Mahomes was out, and Gardner Minshew also suffered a season-ending injury, and the Chiefs were playing several backups and behind a banged-up offensive line. Still, there was no excuse for Brown not to torch an ailing defense like the Titans', given the extended opportunities.
The Titans had allowed four players to log at least 70 receiving yards in two games before Brown's dud. He finished with three receptions for 22 yards, with the bulk of his production coming on an 18-yard reception. The Chiefs needed him to give them a reason to run things back in 2026, yet he did anything but that.
Brown was supposed to be a big-play specialist and one of Mahomes' preferred targets. He missed most of his first year with the team with an injury, and failed to step up in his second campaign despite having several opportunities because of the Chiefs' undermanned receiver corps.
In 14 games, he's up to just 45 receptions on 65 targets for 516 yards and five touchdowns, and he only had 50-plus receiving yards in a game twice this season. He's averaging a career-low 36.9 yards per game, and that's simply not enough for a team desperately looking for a punch in the passing game.
All things considered, the Chiefs might be better off trying to convince Thornton to stay, given that he did show some actual chemistry with Mahomes when given a chance. As for Brown, he should draw interest somewhere else, but the Chiefs must make sure that he's someone else's problem.
Mahomes deserves better. And with 37 players under contract and the team being just over $34.9 million above the salary cap, per Spotrac, general manager Brett Veach will have to be quite careful with the players he chooses to bring back and at what price. It's become painfully evident that Brown shouldn't make that cut.