The unfortunate news that Kansas City Chiefs fourth-round rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals would miss Week 1 and not even travel with the team to Brazil throws another wrench into the offense’s plans.
They’re already without Rashee Rice and while Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown is healthy, the offense will be missing multiple key wideouts in a tough divisional game with the Los Angeles Chargers. That’s going to give unheralded players an opportunity in the offense, and one under-the-radar, unproven option could see a large role that he wasn’t expecting.
Kansas City stunned fans when they kept eight receivers at roster cutdown day, and it seems they knew what they were doing. That eighth guy, Jason Brownlee, just may be the biggest beneficiary of Royals’ injury.
Patrick Mahomes to Jason Brownlee for a beautiful back shoulder TD!
Stream on @NFLPLus pic.twitter.com/hCRwwx9Uoy
— NFL (@NFL) August 10, 2025
Chiefs WR Jason Brownlee Could Earn Role After Jalen Royals’ Injury
The 26-year-old Brownlee, who is entering his third active season despite only appearing in seven career games, is a name to watch on Friday night. Should he perform well, he’ll steal a larger role and more snaps moving forward.
It’s obvious that the coaching staff likes Brownlee. In the first drive of the preseason, he caught a beautiful shoulder fade from Patrick Mahomes by making an excellent adjustment on the ball to highpoint it despite needing to turn around. That kind of playmaking is what Kansas City hoped Justyn Ross could provide in recent years but it never materialized, so Brownlee’s first catch as a Chief gave hope to what could be.
His value is particularly important in the red zone, where the team has struggled in recent years. Kansas City was 21st in red zone TD percentage (54.55%) and has ranked in the bottom half of the NFL for the last three years, largely because they haven’t had a big-bodied receiver who can make these tough contested catches.
At 6-foot-3 and 202 pounds, Brownlee fits the mold. He has only five catches for 56 yards and a TD in his career, but the talent is obvious and fills a need. This could be one of his only chances to truly prove himself as well. Once Royals comes back and Rice’s suspension is over, it feels unlikely that the Chiefs would keep eight receivers. Someone will have to be the odd man out and given Nikko Remigio’s value on special teams, it feels like a battle between Brownlee and Tyquan Thornton.
Should Brownlee deliver in the red zone again, the job might be his. It’s never good when a player is injured, though it’s possible it’s the moment Brownlee needs to earn his keep in the league.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kckingdom.com ’
