Anyone looking for examples of how quickly things can change in the NFL should take note of how things have gone for Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney over the last year.
Toney’s long punt return and late touchdown catch helped lift the Chiefs to a Super Bowl LVII win over the Eagles and helped fuel an offseason of discussion about whether he’d be the team’s top receiver in 2023. A dropped pass in the season-opening loss to the Lions was the first of many wrong steps Toney took over the course of the season and he wound up inactive for the last seven games of the season despite the Chiefs’ need for wideouts to step up.
Those needs have changed and Toney is listed on the bottom rungs of the depth chart with final cuts coming in a few days. After Thursday’s postseason finale, head coach Andy Reid didn’t offer much reason to think Toney will make it through that process.
“We went through last year with him, so we kind of know who he is,” Reid said at a press conference. “He’s a talented kid. He’s in a battle to make the team and all that bit, but we’ve never questioned the talent there. Him staying healthy was the main thing.”
The Giants drafted Toney in the first round in 2021 with ideas about a long run as a critical piece of their offense, but he may need to find a third team willing to take a chance on him to make it through four years in the NFL.