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Cardinals' Hollywood Brown Says He Requested Trade; Lamar Jackson Knew of Unhappiness
April 29, 2022
Wide receiver Marquise "Hollywood" Brown confirmed Friday that he asked the Baltimore Ravens to trade him following the 2022 season.
During an interview on SiriusXM's I Am Athlete Tonight, Brown discussed the trade request and noted that Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was well aware that he wanted out:
Dov Kleiman @NFL_DovKleiman.<a href="https://twitter.com/Primetime_jet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Primetime_jet</a> confirms to <a href="https://twitter.com/IAATonight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IAATonight</a> that he indeed requested a trade away from the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ravens?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ravens</a> and he talked to <a href="https://twitter.com/Lj_era8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lj_era8</a> multiple times about it. After his 2nd season and during his 3rd season.<br><br>Says he kept tings in-house and the issue was about the offensive system, not his QB. <a href="https://t.co/wwWVLhKDHR">pic.twitter.com/wwWVLhKDHR</a>
The trade happened Thursday night during the first round of the 2022 NFL draft and saw Baltimore ship Brown and the No. 100 pick to the Arizona Cardinals for the No. 23 selection.
Baltimore subsequently traded down two spots to No. 25 overall and took Iowa center Tyler Linderbaum.
During the interview, Brown mentioned expressing his unhappiness to the Ravens as early as his second NFL season in 2020.
Per ESPN's Jamison Hensley, Brown made it clear that his unhappiness stemmed from the offensive system and not Jackson specifically, saying: "I love Lamar. It was just, you know, it's just the system just wasn't for me personally."
Despite Brown saying Jackson was aware of his trade request, the quarterback seemed to take issue with Baltimore's decision to move him, as evidenced by the following tweet:
Jackson also reacted to the Cardinals introducing their new wideout:
While the Baltimore offense has largely been predicated on running the ball during Jackson's career, Brown will be part of a far more wide-open and pass-happy offense in Arizona under head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Brown is also set to reunite with former Oklahoma University teammate and Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.
Even with Jackson missing time last season because of injury, the 24-year-old Brown set career highs with 91 receptions for 1,008 yards, scoring six touchdowns.
His 11.1 yards per catch was a career low in three NFL seasons, but he figures to get far more downfield opportunities in Arizona.
Brown will essentially replace Christian Kirk, who signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and be a key part of an Arizona receiving corps that includes DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Rondale Moore.
Meanwhile, Baltimore's receiving corps is left in shambles, with 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman leading the way, followed by Devin Duvernay, Tylan Wallace and James Proche II, all of whom are unproven.
Baltimore did not address the wide receiver position in the first round of the draft, but it could do so with the No. 45 pick in the second round or the No. 76 pick in the third round Friday night.