With veteran receiver Sammy Watkins leaving the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason for the Baltimore Ravens, there’s been a competition this summer for the No. 2 receiver role in Kansas City opposite Tyreek Hill. While the competition will seemingly continue to play out during the regular season, as no single player separated themselves from the pack during the preseason, it looks like a free-agent receiver wants to put his name in the hat for that job:
John Brown.
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Brown Made It Known on Facebook
As spotted by KOAM’s News Now Sports Director Jake Lenard, a comment left on one of John Brown’s Facebook posts displays where the talented receiver wants to play next.
One person commented on Brown’s post, saying, “I’m publicly begging you to come to KC and catch passes as a Chief!,” to which Brown replied, “[smiling face emoji] I’m hoping.”
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Brown Had His Second-Worst NFL Season in 2020
As a third-round pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Brown has had ups and downs in his career but is undoubtedly a talented pass-catcher. He has recorded 320 receptions for 4,784 yards — 14.8 yards per reception — and 31 touchdowns during his seven-year career, per Pro Football Reference.
His best season statistically to date was in 2019 with the Buffalo Bills in which he gathered a career-high 1,060 receiving yards on 72 receptions and tacked on six touchdowns as well. However, he followed that up with his second-worst season statistically to date, having just 458 receiving yards on 33 receptions with three touchdowns in 2020.
The biggest issue with Brown, 31, is his availability. He has only twice in his career played an entire 16-game regular season, having missed 16 games total during his career, seven of which came last year.
Earlier this week, Brown no longer wanted to be with the Las Vegas Raiders, which is why, despite giving him a one-year, $3.75 million contract this offseason, he requested his release from the AFC West squad and they granted his request, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on August 31.
Would Brown Be of Use to Chiefs?
The last question that remains: Would Brown be of use to the Chiefs? The short answer — yes. Given his resume as a deep, reliable threat when healthy, Brown makes plenty of sense for a Kansas City squad that is seeking a reliable target opposite of Hill in the passing game. The Chiefs only have $3.6 million in available cap space to work with currently, per OverTheCap, but based on how little he signed with the Raiders for this offseason and the fact that he is unemployed heading into Week 1 of the regular season, Kansas City may be able to work out a very cheap deal with Brown, who has publicly expressed interest in playing for the AFC powerhouse.
If Brown does really want to play for the Chiefs, then all it comes down to is general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid agreeing that this is a move they should make and pull the trigger. Now — September 3 — would be the perfect time to do so, as there are nine days remaining before the team’s regular-season opener against the Cleveland Browns, which would give Brown ample time to learn the lay of the land in Kansas City before the season opener.
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Talented Free Agent Wide Receiver ‘Hoping’ to Play for Chiefs