Last offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs signed wide receiver Marquise Brown to a one-year, $7 million deal to bolster their aerial attack.

At the time, it looked like an outstanding move. The Chiefs had just landed a receiver with a 1,000-yard season under his belt for a bargain, and with Patrick Mahomes throwing the football, Brown’s speed would work wonders in Kansas City.

Unfortunately, Brown suffered a shoulder injury in preseason, knocking him out for most of they year. He did return in Week 16, but he didn’t make a significant impact the rest of the way.

Now, the 27-year-old is slated to hit the free-agent market again, and given the lack of top-tier talent available at wide out this March, he could be a rather popular commodity.

The Chiefs don’t have a whole lot of cap room, so retaining Brown may be difficult, and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell’s contract projection for the downfield burner is pretty concerning.

In a piece where Barnwell separated all of the offensive free agents into tiers, he placed Brown in the “capable starters” category, which, by Barnwell’s calculations, makes him good for an average annual salary between $11-20 million per year.

Now, if Brown hits the low end, it would be alright. Sure, Kansas City only paid $7 million for him last year, but $11 million still wouldn’t be bad for a playmaker of his caliber. But if Brown ends up around $15 million or more? Yeah; the Chiefs should probably pass.

Brown is a solid player, but he owns a career catch rate of 59.6 percent, and for as fast as he is, he has averaged a very pedestrian 11.6 yards per reception throughout his NFL tenure.

Now, one can point to Brown’s quarterback situations as a reason for his ordinary numbers, as Lamar Jackson didn’t throw deep too often during Brown’s first three NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, and Kyler Murray was injured for a good chunk of his time with the Arizona Cardinals.

Still, at some point, Brown needs to be held responsible, and he has clearly not been taking advantage of his best attributes thus far.

Is that going to suddenly change in 2025? Or should Kansas City move in another direction?

Well, if Barnwell is right in his projections, then perhaps the Chiefs should look elsewhere for another weapon.