Chiefs activate WR Marquis Brown, clearing way for regular-season debut vs. Texans

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs activated wide receiver Marquis Brown from injured reserve on Friday, clearing the way for their biggest free-agent acquisition of the offseason to make his regular-season debut on Saturday against the Texans.

Brown dislocated the sternoclavicular joint in his shoulder on the first play of the preseason against Jacksonville. The hope was that the injury would heal on its own and Brown would miss only a few weeks. But it wasn't healing properly, so the Chiefs and Brown decided he'd have a procedure to ensure the shoulder would be set properly.

Brown was cleared to return to practice late last week, and he was able to fully participate this past week.

“He’s done a nice job,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t his legs (that were injured), so he’s been able to run. Keep himself in running shape. But the rest of it, the surgery part, it looked good.”

Brown will have Patrick Mahomes throwing passes to him after the Chiefs quarterback made it through the week without any trouble caused by the high-ankle sprain he sustained last week against Cleveland. And together, they will be part of an offense that looks much different than the one Kansas City expected to have this past offseason.

The Chiefs lost their top wide receiver, Rashee Rice, to a season-ending knee injury in Week 4, and that led them to work out a trade with Tennessee for three-time All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins. And when running back Isiah Pacheco went on the injured list, the Chiefs brought back Kareem Hunt, who filled in admirably and is now part of a strong backfield tandem.

“Hollywood has played a lot in this league. I consider him a veteran receiver,” Hopkins said, “so having his experience is good.”

His return comes at a good time for Kansas City, which is playing three games in an 11-day span. The Chiefs (13-1) play the Texans on Saturday, then play the Steelers on Christmas Day, as they try to hold onto the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Chiefs did not need a roster spot for Brown after releasing running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire earlier in the week. They also elevated safety Deon Bush and tight end Anthony Firkser from the practice squad to face the Texans.