Kadarius Toney’s sometimes encouraging, often frustrating career with the Kansas City Chiefs is over. The team’s most important decision-maker seems to have no regrets.
Two days after the Chiefs waived the former first-round pick, just before the NFL draft deadline, general manager Brett Veach told reporters he would happily trade him again:
“I don’t think we’d be sitting here waiting for a third straight Super Bowl if we hadn’t made that deal. So, from that standpoint, we’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Kansas City acquired Toney during the 2022-23 season, sending a third- and sixth-round pick to the New York Giants in exchange for a player with a lot of potential but little consistency, especially in terms of health.
Toney’s job description for the Chiefs for the remainder of the season could best be described as a “gadget player” or “depth wide receiver.” He had 171 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in seven games, but then became a Super Bowl hero with a record-breaking point return touchdown.
There was always hope that Toney would make it and become the WR1 the Chiefs were looking for after the Tyreek Hill trade, but he was never more than a bit player in the offense and had more than his fair share of missteps. When the Chiefs brought in wideouts like Marquise Brown, Xavier Worthy and Juju Smith-Schuster this offseason to fill a room that also included Rashee Rice and Justin Watson, there wasn’t much room left for Toney.
As Veach put it, the team was never able to tap into that talent:
“It’s always disappointing when a player’s time comes to an end in that situation, meaning you have players who are caught up in age, you have players who have maybe a really bad injury, and then you have players who you leave behind because the talent just wasn’t there. I think when you have to leave behind a player and the end product, where that talent wasn’t utilised, then that’s disappointing.
“I think it goes both ways. I’m sure there are things he would do differently in terms of some of the off-season stuff and taking care of his body.”
Veach called Toney a “really smart kid” and said he was “actually a lot of fun to be around.” He also wished him the best and said he believed he could succeed on another team.
One luxury of winning back-to-back Super Bowls is that it’s pretty hard to regret a decision made during that stretch, especially when the product of that decision happens to score a Super Bowl touchdown. So it’s understandable that the Chiefs wouldn’t be too concerned about this blunder.
