The Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday in Super Bowl LIX, seeking to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls. They are favored to do it.
The Chiefs have three former Arizona Cardinals players who were supposed to be cornerstones to a potential championship team in 2022 — tackle D.J. Humphries, receiver Hollywood Brown and receive DeAndre Hopkins.
The Cardinals had gone 11-6 in 2021 and made the playoffs, although they stumbled down the stretch and were blown out in the wild card game by the eventual champion L.A. Rams.
They basically ran the roster back in 2022 hoping to build on that. Humphries was the Cardinals’ starting left tackle. Hopkins was going to be healthy and then Brown was acquired in a draft-day trade.
But we know how 2022 ended up. Hopkins was suspended, Brown got hurt just before Hopkins came back, Humphries missed the back half of the season with a back injury and quarterback Kyler Murray tore his ACL. It was a four-win season and the coaches were fired and Hopkins was later released in the offseason.
All three now can experience a championship if the Chiefs win on Sunday. Brown and Hopkins are healthy. Humphries was a late-season addition after recovering from a torn ACL. He started two games, injured his hamstring and is now a reserve as Joe Thuney moved to left tackle.
Hopkins had 41 catches in 10 games for the Chiefs after being traded from the Titans. He has had one catch so far in the postseason.
Brown signed with the Chiefs in free agency, missed almost the entire season with a shoulder injury but came back in December and had nine catches in two games. He has had three receptions in the postseason.
In addition to the three former Cardinals on Kansas City’s roster, running back Keaontay Ingram, drafted by the Cardinals in the sixth round in 2022, is on the Chiefs’ practice squad.
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