The Chiefs are getting a lot of reinforcements back in the coming weeks.
The Kansas City Chiefs have come through the fires in the first half of the season when it comes to injuries. They've lost key personnel at every single position on offense, including multiple pass catchers expected to sit atop the depth chart. Fortunately, they could keep winning despite the personnel losses and come into Week 12 with a 9-1 record.
On this side of things, the Chiefs can not only point to the grit and toughness developed during those leaner weeks, but they can also take heart knowing that help is on the way—lots of it.
The Chiefs are expected to get a key player back on each side of the ball as soon as later this week. Pass rusher Charles Omenihu has been working hard to return from a torn ACL and is scheduled to make his season debut on Friday against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 13. Lead running back Isiah Pacheco is also returning next Friday, assuming nothing changes, after missing the last 10 weeks with a fractured fibula.
In addition to those returnees, some rumors have even better things in store for the Chiefs. Specifically, it sounds as if the Chiefs could get Marquise "Hollywood" Brown back this season after all. In fact, the timeline sounds pretty heartening considering it was once believed that Brown was out for the year following his clavicle injury suffered during the team's first preseason game against Jacksonville.
"There's a possibility that we see Hollywood Brown back on the field this season as early as Christmas."@jjones9 reports on the Kansas City Chiefs getting some much-needed reinforcements pic.twitter.com/PDksAdru3C
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 24, 2024
"Reinforcements, they’re on the way to Kansas City. Expect Isiah Pacheco back on Black Friday against the Raiders. Pass rusher Charles Omenihu should make his debut then, too. And then there’s a possibility that we see Hollywood Brown back on the field this season, as early as Christmas."
If Brown is back at Christmas, that would be huge for multiple reasons. First, that game will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers as the Chiefs' opponents, one of the primary contenders for the top overall seed in the AFC. Any ability to add talent to the offense against a tough defense like Pittsburgh's is a major win.
Even more, it gives Brown two games in the late-season run to prepare for the postseason. That means working out the kinks, earning some more trust with Mahomes, and seeing how he fits with other pass catchers like JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeAndre Hopkins, and Travis Kelce.
Brown signed with the Chiefs on a one-year deal back in free agency in the spring and was supposed to help carry the load for a remade pass offense next to Xavier Worthy, this spring's first-round pick and Rashee Rice, last season's second-round pick.x