One of the more recent NFL Draft busts is wide receiver Kadarius Toney. He’s been on three teams in four seasons and is now facing major criminal charges after recently being arrested.
The two-time Super Bowl champ was taken into custody for a violent incident with a woman.
Kadarius Toney Arrested for Strangling a Woman
The Giants selected Toney with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was expected to be a major weapon in New York’s offense but never lived up to the flashes he showed in his rookie season.
An oblique injury and a stint on the COVID-19 list limited him to 39 receptions, 420 yards, and no touchdowns in 10 games that season. His best game that season was against the Cowboys, when he broke Odell Beckham Jr.’s team rookie receiving record by hauling in 10 receptions for 189 yards.
Toney was traded to Kansas City in 2022 after a Week 2 hamstring injury caused him to miss the next five games. He was quiet in seven regular-season games for the Chiefs but did become the team’s primary punt returner. Toney added seven catches for 50 yards in the playoffs and recorded a 65-yard punt return in Kansas City’s Super Bowl 57 win.
The receiver won another championship in 2023 but was a non-factor for Kansas City all season. His best game was Week 2 against Jacksonville, when he had five receptions for 35 yards. Toney played in 13 games that season, the most of his career, but finished with 27 catches for 169 yards and one score.
He was inactive for the entire playoff run and made headlines with an Instagram Live post claiming the Chiefs were lying about his injury designations. The team declined his fifth-year option the following spring and released him during training camp in 2024.
Toney signed to Cleveland’s practice squad in early September and was called up late in the season. He had minimal on-field impact for the Browns and was cut in early December.
Expected an actual insider to be on this faster than I am but since @AdamSchefter @RapSheet, others haven't been on it, WR Kadarius Toney was arrested last Thursday on warrants out of Douglas County, GA for aggravated assault/strangulation and obstructing 911 call charges. pic.twitter.com/G3Ems3iwQI
— Brian Smith (@BrianSmith429) February 12, 2025
The receiver’s search for a new team will be delayed after being arrested in Douglas County, Georgia. Police documents detail an incident where Toney, “put his hand around a woman’s throat during a dispute…and squeezing with enough force to cause her to be unable to breath.”
The report also states that the woman had marks on her neck and petechial hemorrhaging in her eyes. Toney has been charged with aggravated assault by strangulation and obstruction of emergency calls. The obstruction charge comes from Toney allegedly preventing the victim from dialing 911 on her phone.
Each count comes with a $25,000 bond, and as a result of the incident, Toney’s NFL career could be over.