It hasn’t always been an injury, but the Kansas City Chiefs’ injury report has been flooded with key names and absences since the start of the 2025 season, and the latest Week 15 news was no different against the Los Angeles Chargers, as the hits kept coming on December 12.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid addressed the media on Friday, providing the Week 15 injury statuses of multiple starting offensive linemen who are crucial to KC’s chances of success, and then he slipped in an unexpected note that is eerily reminiscent of the Josh Simmons situation.
“Chiefs HC Andy Reid said WR Hollywood Brown (NIR-personal) won’t be available for Week 15 vs. the Chargers,” A-to-Z Sports Kansas City reporter Charles Goldman relayed on X.
Listening to the press conference, Reid did not provide much of a reason, either.
“No,” the Chiefs coach simply responded, after being asked if he expects Brown to be available versus the Chargers. He also said, “yes,” when asked if this is another non-injury-related matter.
Brown missed practice earlier this week on December 10 for personal reasons, but he was back on December 11. That put the starting wideout on track to return for Week 15, until the December 12 practice began.
It raised some alarms when Brown was not seen at practice on Friday morning. And now those fears have unfortunately been confirmed.
With Brown officially ruled out, expect the Chiefs to either elevate a receiver from the practice squad or activate rookie Jalen Royals, who has been a healthy scratch most weeks.
It’s Time for Chiefs to Give Jalen Royals Snaps in Week 15 vs. Chargers
Although Brown will be missed, the silver lining could be that Royals finally gets more snaps on offense.
The rookie wide receiver has mostly been asked to redshirt his inaugural season after he displayed a ton of talent at OTAs and training camp. And that’s frustrated fans.
After all, Royals was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 draft, and the Chiefs have him buried on the depth chart behind veterans who fail to offer a ton of upside week to week.
The 2025 season isn’t over yet, but time is running out. If Kansas City loses just one more game, the chances of making the playoffs become nonexistent.
Perhaps it’s time for Reid to switch things up a little bit and turn his rookie loose. Alongside Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, Royals offers tremendous upside as an additional yards-after-catch threat for the opposition to worry about.
Why not tap into that with Brown missing in action?
Will the Chiefs Re-Sign Hollywood Brown in 2026?
After another lackluster season for Brown, it’s fair to wonder if the Chiefs will re-sign him again in 2026.
Reid and general manager Brett Veach seemed insistent that they wanted to see a full year of Brown last offseason, given his injury issues in 2024, and they brought him back based on that curiosity.
Having said that, Brown is in the midst of a career-worst campaign — aside from 2024 — in which he’s only contributed 494 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, plus a career-low 38.0 yards per game.
After a full year of seeing Brown in this KC offense, it just feels like he’s not the fit that Reid and Veach envisioned. And with Royals and Tyquan Thornton (impending free agent) potentially taking on a larger role in 2026, it’s possible the Chiefs elect to move on from the former first-round talent next March.
Chiefs Abruptly Rule Out Starting WR as Injury Hits Keep Coming