Kadarius Toney has been fired by a third team.
The Cleveland Browns waived Toney on Tuesday after he committed multiple blunders in Sunday’s 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Toney was a first-round draft pick of the Giants in 2020 and has now been traded by the Giants and released by the Chiefs and Browns in four NFL seasons. His latest sack comes after two unforced errors against the Steelers on special teams.
During the fourth quarter, Toney Fair caught a punt at the Cleveland 36-yard line. He then started jawing with Steelers players before throwing the ball to Steelers special teamer Ben Skowronek after Skowronek turned his back on Toney.
That miscue earned Toney a 15-yard taunting penalty, sending the Browns back to their 21-yard line.
Then, later in the fourth quarter, Toney failed to corral another Steelers punt. With Pittsburgh leading, 27-14 and 2:57 to go, Toney muffed a punt at Cleveland’s 21-yard line. Skowronek – the man Toney threw the ball to moments earlier – recovered the sleeve for a Steelers takeaway.
The turnover allowed the Steelers to run out the clock, sinking any hopes of a Browns rally.
Now Toney no longer has a job.
Toney’s wild NFL ride
Toney’s career has been a roller coaster since he joined the NFL with the Giants as the No. 20 pick in the 2021 draft. The Giants used a first-round pick on Toney despite highly publicized issues on and off the field while he was in college in Florida.
Toney lasted 12 games in New York before the Giants traded him to the Chiefs two games into his second NFL season. Toney then spent a season-plus with the Chiefs, marked by notable highs and lows.
Toney was a key contributor to Kansas City’s 2023 Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, catching a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes that gave the Chiefs a 28–27 lead. He then returned a punt 65 yards to the Philadelphia 5-yard line that set up another Chiefs touchdown to go up 35–27 in their 38–35 victory.
He was not a major contributor to Kansas City’s Super Bowl run the following season. Toney was inactive for the final four weeks of the regular season and throughout the postseason, including Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. During that inactive period, Toney sparred with the Chiefs on social media, claiming the team lied about his injury.
The Chiefs waived Toney this offseason. The Browns then signed him to their practice squad in September and he played three games for the team before being released on Tuesday.
In parts of four NFL seasons, Toney has 82 catches for 760 yards with three touchdowns. He has returned 21 punts for an average of 7.8 yards per return with no touchdowns.
