Over the weekend, audio emerged of Chiefs receiver Kadarius Toney supposedly claiming (in very colorful and profane language) that he’s not injured. In the two days since we first saw it, no one has said it’s not him.
We specifically asked both the Chiefs and Toney’s agents. In response, silence.
Said Toney: “Man that shit cap. I’m not hurt. Not of that shit. Save that shit. . . . It go from hip to ankle to this to that. . . . I’m in a body cast right now at this point.”
Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked about it on Monday. He also didn’t say it’s false or fake or not Toney.
“I actually haven’t seen it,” Reid said. “I heard people talk about it. But yeah, he’ll be back out there [at practice], and we’ll see how he does.”
Last week, Toney fully participated in practice on Wednesday with a hip injury. He was limited on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, he was downgraded from questionable to out, with “personal reasons” (the birth of a child) added to the designation.
The prior week, Toney was limited in practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with hip and ankle injuries. He was ruled out for the divisional round game against the Bills.
The prior week, Toney again was limited all week. He was questionable but did not play.
Toney last played in Week 15, against the Patriots. He had a bad drop that became an interception. The prior week, he was lined up offside on the key play that was wiped out by a penalty.
Practicing isn’t the issue; he’s been practicing. The question is whether he’ll be playing.
On the surface, the Chiefs have no reason to embellish or fabricate an injury for Toney. However, it’s a prudent way to handle him if they’ve decided to just get through the season and trade him.
If it’s widely know that he’s sidelined not because he’s injured but because he’s a pain in the ass, it will be harder to get much for him.
Then again, based on his time with the Giants and his time with the Chiefs, it’s getting harder and harder to say the rest of the league isn’t aware of the challenges associated with having Toney on the team.