The Cardinals are set to have their No. 1 receiver return this Thursday, but it appears they will be without another high-profile member of the wideout room for, at best, an extended period. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Marquise Brown – who suffered a foot injury Sunday – could be sidelined for the remainder of the season (Twitter link).
Brown, 25, was seen in a walking boot after Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks. Schefter adds that further testing is still to be done to confirm a diagnosis, but a lengthy absence would mark a significant blow for both him and the Cardinals. The former first-rounder is in the final year of his rookie contract and will earn $13.4M next year on the fifth-year option should a long-term deal not come to fruition.
The Oklahoma product had an up-and-down tenure with the Ravens to start his career. Quickly establishing himself as an effective deep threat, "Hollywood" averaged 12 yards per catch over the course of his three seasons in Baltimore. That time included his only 1,000-yard campaign to date, when he posted a 91/1,008/6 statline in 2021.
The Ravens dealt him to Arizona during the first night of this year’s draft, however. It was reported not long after that Brown had requested the move, which landed Baltimore a first-round pick and allowed him to join a much more pass-happy offense. The swap also reunited him with former college teammate Kyler Murray, leading to expectations that the pair would put up significant production early in the season in particular.
Through six weeks, Brown has amassed 43 catches, 485 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged over 10 targets per game over that span, in large part due to the absence of DeAndre Hopkins. The latter is eligible to return from his PED suspension starting in Week 7, though, something that is expected to help a Cardinals unit ranked 19th in the NFL in passing yards per game (246).
A step forward will be harder to come by without Brown, however. Arizona has already lost Antoine Wesley for the remainder of the season due to a quadriceps tear. The team also waived former second-rounder Andy Isabella, leaving it short on speed options aside from the newly acquired Robbie Anderson.
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