Unavailable for most of his Giants stay and part of his first season with the Chiefs, Kadarius Toney has managed to stay healthy this year. That has, however, not translated to the game-breaking plays the Chiefs sought upon trading third- and sixth-round picks to acquire him. Instead, Toney has become the face of the team’s wide receiver problem.
The third-year player’s crucial offside infraction against the Bills preceded a Patriots game that featured a drop that led to an interception. The Chiefs viewed Toney as a potential No. 1 receiver this offseason, but the shifty ex-first-rounder has only caught 27 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown this year.
With the Chiefs’ options limited at wide receiver due to injuries and an offseason that featured a few upgrade efforts fail to cross the goal line, they are unlikely to remove Toney from a regular role on offense. Toney should be expected to remain part of the receiver rotation, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes.
Kansas City’s receiver troubles extend beyond Toney. Skyy Moore, whom the team placed on IR this week, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling have made critical mistakes. While JuJu Smith-Schuster has underwhelmed in New England, his departure — after a 933-yard 2022 season — has been noticeable in Kansas City. The team will continue to depend on second-rounder Rashee Rice‘s development, as the SMU product holds a sizable yardage lead (754) among Chiefs wideouts.
The defending Super Bowl champions will have another option available soon. They designated Mecole Hardman for return Thursday, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Kansas City reacquired Hardman in October, bringing him back after a few uneventful months in New York. Hardman contributed as a returner and receiver from 2019-22, posting three 500-plus-yard seasons while a Tyreek Hill sidekick. An injury cut Hardman’s 2022 season short and ultimately kept him out of Super Bowl LVII, but he qualifies as an auxiliary Patrick Mahomes target in a time of need. Hardman, 25, suffered a sprained thumb against the Eagles last month.
That said, Hardman has been slow to reacclimate in Missouri. Although he caught just one pass with the Jets, the former second-round pick has just eight catches for 41 yards since rejoining the Chiefs. Hardman also fumbled a punt return during a loss to the Broncos. With Moore on IR and Toney unreliable, it would not surprise to see the team reintegrate Hardman soon once he is activated. The Chiefs, who have six IR activations remaining, have 21 days to move Hardman back to the active roster.
If the Bills make the postseason, they should send Toney a thank you card.
I know Andy Reid and Mahomes went crazy over that call, but cmon. It was pretty egregious.
The refs would’ve got more crap for not calling that.
Especially after the horrible officiating against the lions week 1 where OT Taylor was lining up in practically the back field the entire game.
This is the price teams pay for ignoring red flags. All teams talk about doing due diligence on players. I have a very hard time believing that any team who actually did due diligence on Toney is having a hard time figuring out why this isn’t working out.
Teams all wind up falling in love with the talent but don’t take into consideration potential fit, character make-up and such.
Is Jarvis Landry a free agent? If so, they should sign him.
Huh? Landry has no speed left, that’s why he hasn’t even made a practice squad.
How many false starts on the Chiefs haven’t been called. A few really egregious calls haven’t been made on them. Holding call on the Jets the Chiefs O line should’ve either kissed him or bought him dinner first.