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Kadarius Toney needs a Super miracle to salvage a career gone awry | Whitley

david whitley, gainesville sun
·4 min read
2

At last year’s Super Bowl, a seemingly chastened Kadarius Toney said he was just grateful to be there.

“God’s got a plan,” he said.

Apparently, it does not call for Toney to realize how good he has it.

Toney is back at the Super Bowl this week, having hitched another ride on the Patrick Mahomes Express. Whether he’ll play is an open question.

And if Toney does not get in Sunday’s game against the 49ers, his chance at a ready-made NFL career will have been officially squandered. What would it take for Kansas City to keep him around?

At the very least, Toney would refrain from calling his bosses a bunch of liars in an X-rated Instagram post. Assuming he could resist that urge, maybe a 200-yard receiving game would buy him some more grace.

“I just want him to know it’s always love in this building,” Travis Kelce said before KC departed for Las Vegas.

And I just wish somebody or something would shake some sense into Toney. Most Florida fans probably feel the same way.

When an ex-Gator makes the Super Bowl, it’s usually a source of pride. With Toney, it’s a source of bewilderment.

Why does he seem so intent on career suicide?

Toney still has the electrifying moves that made 2020 such a memorable season at UF. Nobody could stop Kyle Trask and the Gator Air Show.

It even put 46 points on eventual national champ Alabama in the SEC title game. The Giants were impressed enough to spend their first-round pick on Toney, who promptly malingered his way into the dog house.

New York did Toney a massive favor when it traded him to the Chiefs midway through last season. What was not to love about KC?

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Even before Taylor Swift arrived, it had the NFL’s best quarterback, best coach, best organization and was desperate for a big-play receiver. Toney wasn’t the second coming of Tyreke Hill, but he caught a TD in the Super Bowl and returned a punt 65 yards to propel the Chiefs to a 38-35 win over Philadelphia.

Instead of building on that this season, Toney reverted to New York form. Among the lowlights were two crucial drops in an opening-game loss. He famously lined up offsides to negate Kelce’s cross-field lateral to him for a wild go-ahead TD against Buffalo.

Toney’s appeared in only one game since then. In that one, he dropped a pass that turned into a New England interception.

Ever fragile, the Chiefs put Toney on the injured list with hip and ankle injuries. Before last week’s AFC title game, they added that he was staying home for the birth of his first child.

The baby girl part was legit. Hopefully, he won’t drop her. Toney disputed the other stuff in a diatribe that probably set an NFL record for profanity.

“I’m not hurt,” he said. “None of that s---. Save that s---. S--- my d---, too!”

His rant lasted 40 seconds. The fatherly Reid let it slide at a press conference the next day.

‘‘He’s been working through some things,” Reid said.

Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney (19) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Dec. 10, 2023. The play was called back due to an offensive penalty.
Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney (19) scores a touchdown during the second half against the Bills at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Dec. 10, 2023. The play was called back due to an offensive penalty.

It seems that Toney’s been working through things since Gainesville police caught him with a loaded AR-15 in the back seat of his car before his sophomore season. Six years later, he hasn’t made much progress.

Reid’s been mum about his plans to use Toney against the 49ers. Kansas City’s played its best ball the past month without him. Why mess that up?

Even if Toney makes another impact play like last year’s punt return, the love is gone in KC’s building. The Chiefs will likely release Toney or trade him to a team willing to take on a reclamation project.

I can’t speak for God, but I’m pretty sure that was never Reid’s plan. Maybe it will make Toney realize it’s time to stop acting like a knucklehead.

If he doesn't, Toney's not going to find love in any NFL building.

David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Toney needs Super Bowl miracle to stay with Kansas City