The Chiefs and 49ers both lose key players to injury, which prematurely casts doubt on a Super Bowl rematch. Despite not being chronic injuries, they could have an impact on the clubs in the early part of the season.
During the preseason, NFL teams aim to achieve several goals, chief among them being monitoring the play of players on the roster bubble and obtaining playing time for their younger players. Teams, above all, simply want to avoid having any players harmed. That’s true coming into every game of the season, but losing a key player ahead of schedule can be devastating, particularly for the team’s morale. A key starter from each of the teams who played in the Super Bowl in February suffered rather serious injuries on Saturday.
Week 1 of preseason saw Marquise Brown dislocate his collarbone. First, after participating in just one offensive play during the game, recently signed wide receiver Marquise Brown was seen by the Kansas City Chiefs leaving. Since then, reports have surfaced indicating that Brown required hospital evaluation and was diagnosed with a sternoclavicular dislocation, which means his collarbone became lodged in his sternum.
Although Brown’s injury won’t finish the season, he will be sidelined for a significant amount of time. In the worst situation, he might need to recuperate for up to eight weeks, which would keep him out until Week 5. He and Patrick Mahomes need to develop chemistry, which requires that lost time. During the first preseason game, Ambry Thomas breaks his forearm. A starter for the San Francisco 49ers, the Chiefs’ opponents in the most recent Super Bowl, was forced to leave a game on Saturday. After the game, cornerback Ambry Thomas was carried to the locker room and it was discovered that he had a broken forearm.
Although Thomas played the fourth-most snaps among Niners cornerbacks in the previous campaign, he entered 2024 with the expectation of starting opposite Charvarius Ward. The only thing head coach Kyle Shanahan could say was that “it will be some time” before Thomas returns to action. He won’t be back until the middle of the season, or even longer if the injury was really bad.
