It’s taken a while, but the New York Giants might be starting to win the Kadarius Toney trade. The wide receiver selected 20th overall by the Giants in the 2021 NFL draft, is a “healthy scratch” for the 2024 Super Bowl, with “trust” issues said to be concerning the Kansas City Chiefs.
The report came from Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports: “Barring something unexpected, the Kansas City Chiefs do not plan to have wide receiver Kadarius Toney active for Sunday’s Super Bowl.” Jones also revealed, “sources in Kansas City have said Toney isn’t a bad person, but clearly there are trust issues within the building.”
If he does miss out against the San Francisco 49ers, it’ll be quite the fall from grace for Toney. His game-turning and record-setting punt return helped the Chiefs edge past the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in last season’s Super Bowl.
KADARIUS TONEY TAKES IT DOWN TO THE 5 YARD LINE.
THIS GAME. 🔥🔥🔥
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/d8gBDzRt2m
Things have unravelled since, amid concerns about Toney’s composure both on and off the field.
Kadarius Toney Wasting Super Bowl Opportunity
Toney’s inability to make the grade with Big Blue, despite his obvious dual-threat talents, could always be explained, at least in part, by the Giants’ broader struggles.
KADARIUS TONEY TAKES IT DOWN TO THE 5 YARD LINE.
THIS GAME. 🔥🔥🔥
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/bFMl6VQPUA— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
Previous head coach Joe Judge and his offensive coordinator Jason Garrett weren’t creative enough. Judge and Garrett’s successors, Brian Daboll and Mike Kafka, never fully committed to integrating Toney into a more expansive scheme.
It’s a different story in Kansas City. Toney plays for the most imaginative play-caller of a generation, Chiefs’ head coach Andy Reid. He’s also part of an offense led by the league’s best quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.
Reid had Toney involved enough in last season’s Super Bowl. As well as the splash play on special teams, Toney hauled in a game-tying five-yard touchdown catch.
TIE GAME. HERE WE GO.
📺: #SBLVII on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/d8gBDzRt2m pic.twitter.com/kibzBw5WYe— NFL (@NFL) February 13, 2023
There’s no excuse for Toney not to become the roving playmaker the Giants hoped they were getting in the first round three years ago.
Instead, many of the familiar problems that blighted his time with the Giants have wrecked a golden opportunity for Toney with the Chiefs.
Giants Starting to Win Kadarius Toney Trade
Most of Toney’s current issues will be nothing new for Giants’ fans. As Jones pointed out, the 25-year-old “has dealt with hip and ankle injuries” Toney has also “dropped more than 15 percent of his targets this season, the most of any qualifying receiver.”
Injuries and drops plagued Toney with the Giants. He had three drops in two seasons, despite appearing in just 12 games, according to Pro Football Reference.
Hamstring, ankle and shoulder problems kept Toney sidelined for most of his brief career with the Giants. While he’s struggled to get onto the field, Toney’s rarely kept quiet off of it.
He recently had to explain an Instagram rant that appeared to dispute the injury designations the Chiefs had given him ahead of the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, per ESPN and Adam Teicher.
Toney maintained he “never attacked the Chiefs, never said anything about the Chiefs. Who I was referring to was the Giants fans and the people in my comments, my comment box, not even on my live recording, so you wouldn’t even know they were there. But I was referring to them, which I shouldn’t have. I just wanted to go out there. I just wanted to get my message across as far as my injury, but I shouldn’t have did that at the end of the day.”
This is far from the first time Toney has engaged in an online war of words with some Giants fans. He trolled his former team with an offensive gesture after winning last season’s Super Bowl.
Toney also enjoyed poking fun after the Giants were beaten 40-0 by the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. Ironically, those jibes followed Toney’s own nightmare showing when the Chiefs lost 21-20 to the Detroit Lions.
The latest setbacks for Toney put a new spin on the decision to trade him for a third-round pick the Giants used to acquire Pro-Bowl tight end Darren Waller. Waller couldn’t avoid injury this season, but Giants’ general manager Joe Schoen may look at what the Chiefs are dealing with from Toney and breath a sigh of relief.
As Dan Duggan of the Athletic put it, “getting a third and a sixth for Toney is Schoen’s most impressive move.” Duggan also included a screenshot from his 2022 article containing this quote about Toney: “Not a guy you can trust. Likes the NFL lifestyle but not the NFL work.”
Who could have foreseen trust issues with Toney? (Screen shot from April 2022). Getting a third and a sixth for Toney is Schoen’s most impressive move: https://t.co/enajs6mOVT https://t.co/OvFCvudySw pic.twitter.com/OSuENPkueM
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) February 11, 2024
Missing the Super Bowl is a new low for Toney. It’s also a reminder of how far the Giants still have to go to put bad drafting behind them, make smarter use of talent and begin competing for titles.
