When you get to the Super Bowl, even the smallest of topics can become major storylines. Case in point: the status of seldom-used Kansas City Chiefs backup wide receiver Kadarius Toney.
After missing the AFC Championship Game with a hip injury and due to personal reasons — the latter attributed to the birth of his daughter — Toney’s status for today remains uncertain.
Kadarius Toney’s Status for Super Bowl LVIII
Update 02/11/2024: According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, WR Kadarius Toney will be a healthy scratch for Super Bowl 58.
Toney has been a full participant in practice leading up to the Super Bowl, so it would appear the hip injury that forced him to the sideline for the AFC Championship Game two weeks ago — along with “personal reasons” — is no longer an issue.
But does that mean we will see Toney on the field Sunday? Not necessarily.
The first-round pick of the New York Giants in the 2021 NFL Draft has not exactly stood out since coming to the Chiefs in the middle of the 2022 season. He caught only 14 passes in seven games with Kansas City last season, and Toney mustered just 27 receptions in 13 regular-season contests in 2023.
And, even if he is on the active roster for the Super Bowl, it’s unlikely Toney will see the field very often. He was on the field for 30 or more offensive plays only once this season, and he never came close to being on the field for 50% of the team’s offensive plays in any game.
Moreover, the most notable moments in Toney’s season involve plays he and the Chiefs would rather forget.
In Week 14 vs. the Buffalo Bills, a late touchdown by the Chiefs was wiped out by a controversial offsides penalty by Toney. The flag nullified a 49-yard touchdown that involved a reception by tight end Travis Kelce, who lateraled the ball to Toney, who ran it in for what appeared to be the go-ahead score.
In Week 15 vs. the New England Patriots, Toney dropped what appeared to be an easy catch, and the pass wound up being intercepted. Following the play, Patrick Mahomes appeared to be visibly upset over the turnover on the Chiefs’ sideline.
Toney was inactive for the final three games of the regular season following the win over the Patriots, as well as Kansas City’s first three postseason contests.
Reid Says Toney Isn’t a Distraction
When asked if Toney would play today, Reid said during the week, “We’ll see how it goes.” Hardly a ringing endorsement for a player who hasn’t taken the field in a game in almost two months.
Toney certainly didn’t help his cause by going on social media the day of the AFC Championship Game to not only reveal he wasn’t injured but also to suggest the Chiefs were not honest about his injury situation.
He claimed this week that he was not attacking the Chiefs in his post, but the situation could be viewed as another distraction for the team before their biggest game of the season. But head coach Andy Reid insisted that wasn’t the case.
Reid told USA Today, “He’s not a distraction. That hasn’t been a problem.”
Can Toney Come Up Big in Another Super Bowl?
Perhaps the biggest reason Toney’s status has been treated like a significant storyline is the fact that his best moments with the Chiefs — and perhaps of his NFL career — came in last year’s Super Bowl.
MORE: Super Bowl LVIII Predictions From the Entire PFN Staff
His five-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter — his only catch of the game — gave the Chiefs their first lead against the Philadelphia Eagles. And minutes later, Toney set a Super Bowl record for the longest punt return with a 65-yard scamper that helped set up Kansas City’s next score.
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