NFL insider drops latest update on Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown's injury return timeline

The Kansas City Chiefs just got back Isiah Pacheco and Charles Omenihu, but those won't be the only reinforcements to arrive by the end of the 2024 NFL season. 

According to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown is nearing his return. He won't return for the Week 14 "Sunday Night Football" game against the Los Angeles Chargers. However, Brown has an appointment the following week which could be pivotal in his ability to return to the field before the end of the regular season. 

Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, the electric wide receiver who was among the biggest acquisitions of the 2024 offseason, is expected back soon from his preseason shoulder injury, and sources say it's likely that he plays before the regular season ends.

Brown has an appointment in Week 15 with his surgeon to potentially gain final clearance, per sources. At that point, if all goes as well as it has been, he's expected back on the practice field and could even play in Weeks 16 or 17. - Ian Rapoport

Should he receive final clearance from doctors, Brown would be designated to return to practice. The team would have a 21-day window to activate him to the 53-man roster.

Brown, of course, was the Chiefs' big free agent receiver signing during the 2024 NFL offseason. A former first-round draft pick out of Oklahoma, Brown has started 65 career games between the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals over the last five seasons.

He has been out since August due to a sternoclavicular joint injury suffered on the first offensive play of preseason Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team initially hoped the injury would heal properly without surgical intervention, but Brown would eventually require surgery on the injury, which led to the extended absence. 

"(He's) making very good progress," Chiefs HC Andy Reid said of Brown ahead of Week 12. "(I) can't tell you when he'll be back. He's another one who is excited to get back out here and get going. So, I appreciate the way he's approached the whole thing."

The recovery and rehab for the injury were considered uncharted territory, but the veteran receiver has attacked his rehab in a way that gives him a chance to be back and get some momentum heading into the playoffs. Brown recently hinted that his return was nearing with a workout video on his Instagram story. Should he return in Week 16 or Week 17, he'll rejoin a wide receiver room that now features his former Cardinals teammate DeAndre Hopkins, but is still without second-year WR Rashee Rice.