Getty LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 29: Marquise Brown #15 of the Baltimore Ravens looks on before a preseason game against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on August 29, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)
The Arizona Cardinals will be entering the season without their top receiver, DeAndre Hopkins due to a six-game suspension. Everything is needed to go smoothly for the rest of the receiving core before he can return otherwise the Cardinals will have to start digging into their reserves. The other receiver who is making headlines currently is Marquise Brown, who suffered a hamstring injury during training camp this week and has been placed on the active non-football injury list.
The latest injury of Brown, although not critical, could potentially be trouble moving forward. Hamstring injuries are nothing to joke about and can turn serious out of nowhere, and has for many players in the past. For the 25-year-old wideout, he is looking to make a splash in his first season with the Cardinals after being acquired from the Baltimore Ravens on draft night. The last thing he needs is an injury to get in the way of that and potentially alter his future with the team.
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Brown’s Role On The Cardinals This Season
“I would say his comfort level is farther ahead than he would be having played at OU in a similar type system,” Kingsbury said when interviewed by ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss. “I would say verbiage-wise, formationally, things like that, but he has tremendous speed. We feel like the comfort level he has with Kyler Murray, he throws with him all the time, is a great kind of bonus to that icing on the cake.”
Even with such little experience in practice, Kingsbury is confident that Brown will soar beyond expectations and fit into their offense. Coming off of a season where Brown had a career-low six touchdowns, he is going to be much more important in 2022. On the other hand, he marked a career-high 1,008 yards and 91 receptions. Brown is on a mission to prove his doubters wrong after he believed the Ravens were not a good fit for him. Kingsbury and star quarterback Murray seem to be just the group to help him. In a year where Brown is looking to break more of his career highs, it is essential he stays healthy and gives his hamstring the time it needs to fully heal.
History Of Minor Injuries For Brown Shows Concern
For many athletes, an injury can be short-term, long term or even career-ending. For many, a build-up of minor injuries in one region can begin to show red flags. For Brown, the only injuries he’s sustained in his career were all on his right leg, according to draftsharks.com. This began in December of 2018, with a pedal foot sprain in his last season in college for the Oklahoma Sooners. Brown was dealt the same injury 11 months later, during his rookie season but it had not been serious, thankfully. Between his second and third year in the National Football League, he sustained a pedal lisfranc fracture, two knee patella sprains, grade two thigh hamstring strain, pedal ankle sprain and a thigh glute strain. With the recent injury during training camp, it is nothing to over exaggerate, but instead to simply notice.
There is more than a month until the regular season opener at home against the Kansas City Chiefs and two weeks until the Cardinals head to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals in their first preseason matchup. This gives Brown plenty of time to rest and recover before his time to shine is here.