The Kansas City Chiefs have signed former New York Jets wide receiver Jason Brownlee amid the NFL playoffs.
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed a new wide receiver, according to Chiefs Digest beat reporter Matt Derrick and KPRC 2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson. They also cut ties with a failed veteran signing as the corresponding move.
“Chiefs have signed WR Jason Brownlee to the practice squad and have terminated the contract of TE Robert Tonyan,” Derrick reported on January 15. The transaction comes just days ahead of the Divisional Round playoff matchup with the Houston Texans.
Brownlee is a 25-year-old pass-catcher that hit the ground running with the New York Jets in 2023, finding his way onto the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie.
During his first NFL campaign, the lanky, 6-foot-3 Brownlee was on the field for 311 offensive snaps, plus another 13 snaps on special teams. He hauled in 5-of-8 targets that season for 56 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.
Unfortunately, Brownlee failed to replicate the same level of consistency the following summer, and he was waived after 2024 training camp and the preseason. After a stint on the Jets’ practice squad, the Chiefs will now take a look at the intriguing WR prospect out of Southern Miss.
If you watch Brownlee play, he’s somewhat reminiscent of Justyn Ross as a wide receiver. Both thrive on jump balls, contested catches and targets downfield, but they each have their shortcomings as well.
The appeal of a Brownlee or a Ross is the big play. These are wideouts with size, athleticism and length that can also take the top off a defense and hit a team where it hurts.
On the flip side, both have struggled to maintain a high catch percentage and success rate during limited action thus far. Ross has achieved a 50.0% catch rate in regular season usage, with an even worse 41.7% receiver success rate — which measures not only catching the football but also gaining a successful amount of yardage to help achieve a first down.
Brownlee has been a little better than Ross in those regards, but not by much. He carries a career 62.5% catch rate and a 50.0% receiver success rate.
They each could use some fine-tuning as route-runners too, and neither has displayed much of a special teams impact early in their careers. It’ll be interesting to see if Brownlee shows enough to stick around for 2025 training camp, given his potential as a player
