Chiefs WR Marquise Brown leaves preseason loss to Jaguars with shoulder injury, putting season opener in doubt

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown went down on the first offensive play of their preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night and was taken to the hospital with a shoulder injury.

He was discharged from the hospital Sunday morning and cleared to return to Kansas City, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Brown sustained a sternoclavicular joint sprain in the Chiefs’ 26-13 loss at EverBank Stadium, coach Andy Reid confirmed after the game. Brown caught an 11-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes in the middle of the field early in the first quarter and was immediately hit by Jaguars cornerback Montaric Brown.

Marquise Brown landed awkwardly on his shoulder as he hit the turf, and he left the field right after the play. He later went back to the locker room and was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Reid confirmed after the game that Brown sustained the same injury that former Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill did against the Jaguars in 2019, according to the Kansas City Star’s Sam McDowell. Hill went down with a sternoclavicular joint dislocation that season and missed four games.

"He'll miss some time,'' Reid said, via ESPN.

While the Chiefs haven’t provided further specifics about Brown’s injury or a timeline for his return, Brown’s status for their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 5 — which is just under a month away — is now very much in doubt. If he were to miss four weeks recovering like Hill did, Brown would be able to return in time for their Week 2 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Brown recorded a career-low 574 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 14 games with the Arizona Cardinals last season. He then signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Chiefs this past offseason.

Mahomes played one drive in the Chiefs’ 13-point loss to the Jaguars on Saturday night in Florida. He went 3-of-4 for 27 yards and set up a 45-yard field goal from Harrison Butker, which put them up 3-0. Travis Etienne and Devin Duvernay each caught touchdown passes for Jacksonville, however, and the Jaguars cruised to the win to kick off the preseason.

The Jaguars, who went 9-8 last season and missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years, will take on the Miami Dolphins to start the season Sept. 8.