A couple of years ago, receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown requested a trade after his third season with the Ravens. He had just eclipsed 1,000 yards for the first time in 2021, finishing with 1,008 yards on 91 catches with six touchdowns.
Baltimore granted Brown’s request, sending him to Arizona in exchange for a first-round pick. At the time, Brown said he put in his request because the Ravens’ offensive system “just wasn’t for me.”
But Brown’s production with the Cardinals didn’t reach new nights. While injuries and inconsistent quarterback play limited him, Brown caught 67 passes for 709 yards with three touchdowns in 12 games for his first season in the desert. Then in 2023, he caught 51 passes for a career-low 574 yards with four TDs in 14 games.
Still, in his introductory video conference with the Chiefs on Monday, Brown maintained that asking out of Baltimore was the right move.
“Yeah, I feel like that was the best decision for me,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, if you’re not happy with yourself or you’re not happy with what’s going on, you can’t put your best foot forward on the field. So, I feel like my time in Arizona, I mean, I didn’t accomplish stuff I wanted to accomplish on the field. But as a man, I grew — I grew closer with God, I grew closer in my relationship with my family. And I feel like God put me in that situation because I needed it.”
Now that he’s inked his one-year deal with Kansas City, Brown feels he’ll be able better display what he can do on the field in 2024.
“Being in this system, I feel like I’ll be able to showcase my skill set,” Brown said. “I still feel like there’s a lot of my game that I really haven’t gotten to show people. And that’s probably what I’m excited about the most being here, is to just put my best foot forward and show what I can do.”
In five seasons, Brown has 313 receptions for 3,644 yards with 28 touchdowns.
