Getty Ravens WRs Marquise "Hollywood" Brown and Sammy Watkins before game against Steelers.
The road to the 2025 Super Bowl just got a little more difficult for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens’ main competition in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs made a big free agency add in Marquise Brown.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted on X on March 14, “A new weapon for Patrick Mahomes: Former Ravens and Cardinals WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, per sources.”
The Chiefs won the 2024 Super Bowl, and instead of standing pat, may have even gotten better.
A new weapon for Patrick Mahomes: Former Ravens and Cardinals WR Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is expected to sign a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, per sources.
During is final season in Baltimore in 2021, Brown had 91 catches for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns. During…
Schefter later clarified, “Comp update: Chiefs are giving Hollywood Brown a one-year deal worth up to $11 million.” He joins a group that has been considered the Chiefs’ weaker groups, although WR Rashee Rice was beginning to come on during the end of the season and playoffs.
Mahomes will now have a group of TE Travis Kelce, Brown, Rice and they may not be finished adding.
This is similar to prior to the 2022 season when they added WR Juju Smith-Schuster to be their lead WR.
The Chiefs have been rotating WRs, since the departure of Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, looking for a true No. 1 to pair with the dynamic Kelce.
It has not stopped the Chiefs though as they have won the past two Super Bowls with a rotating cast of receivers.
Marquise Brown Looks to Rebound in Kansas City
The Ravens drafted Brown in the first round of the 2019 draft and was a solid weapon for QB Lamar Jackson.
Schefter wrote, “During is final season in Baltimore in 2021, Brown had 91 catches for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns.”
Marquise Orange and Brown. 🐶
Brown improved each season with the Ravens and in three seasons with Baltimore he had 195 catches, 2,361 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns.
The receiver was unhappy with his role in Baltimore’s run-first offense and the Ravens traded him after the 2021 season to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals expected the pairing of Brown with Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins would form a dynamic offense and allow Brown to take the next step. Unfortunately, that dream never came to fruition for Brown and the Cardinals.
“During 26 games over two seasons in Arizona, Brown had 118 catches for 1,283 yards and seven TDs,” Schefter reported.
Injuries to both Brown and Murray led to mixed results for the team. He now will return to the AFC and the top QB in the NFL and have a chance to regain his 1,000-yard form he reached in 2021.
Chiefs Still the AFC Favorites Over the Ravens
When the Ravens agreed to a deal with RB Derrick Henry, the belief was that they closed the gap or could have even jumped the Chiefs for the favorites in the AFC.
The Ravens fell short of their Super Bowl goal this season when the Chiefs beat them 17-10 in the AFC championship the past season.
However, with the signing of Brown by the Chiefs, Vegas Insiders now has the Chiefs with better odds than the Ravens for both the AFC championship and Super Bowl.
The Chiefs are listed as +360 favorites to win the AFC championship, while the Ravens are second with +425 odds. The difference is minimal, so the addition of Brown could have swung it in favor of the defending champions.
The Ravens are third in the Super Bowl odds at +900, while the Chiefs are second at +600. The San Francisco 49ers currently have the top odds to win the Super Bowl at +500.