Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on Monday downplayed a profanity-ridden rant from wide receiver Kadarius Toney and rejected the claim that the team had filed inaccurate injury reports.
Toney was inactive for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game win over the Baltimore Ravens with what the Chiefs listed as both personal reasons—Toney’s partner gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, on Saturday, per ESPN—and a hip injury. But in a since-deleted Instagram Live, the 25-year-old receiver claimed the Chiefs were lying and said he is “not hurt.” Reid has not seen the post but has heard about it, he said at a virtual press conference, and is adamant there are no inaccuracies in the team’s injury reports.
“Obviously, he’s been on the injury report,” Reid said. “That part—that’s not made-up by any means. He’s been working through some things.”
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Toney has been on Kansas City’s injury reports each game since Week 9, listed with ankle and hip injuries. The 2021 first-round pick, whom the Chiefs acquired in a trade with the New York Giants last season, was a full participant in practice on Wednesday heading into the Ravens game but was limited the next two days. He carried a questionable designation before being ruled out.
NFL teams and coaches can be fined by the league for misleading or inaccurate injury reports. Such was the case in December, when then-Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith was fined $25,000 and the team $75,000, according to the Associated Press, for failing to disclose running back Bijan Robinson’s illness.
Newsweek reached out to the NFL and the NFLPA on Monday for additional comment on Toney’s claims and Reid’s response.
The 6-foot, 193-pound receiver has not played since Week 15 against the New England Patriots, when a pass from Patrick Mahomes bounced out of his hands and straight into those of a defender for the second time this season.
Kansas City held team meetings Monday and players will be off the next two days before Super Bowl practice begins Thursday, by which time Reid said he hopes to have a game plan installed for February 11’s Super Bowl LVIII meeting with the San Francisco 49ers. This marks the fourth Super Bowl in five years for the Chiefs, and their second matchup with the Niners in that span.
When asked about Toney’s status with the team and whether he would practice this week, Kansas City’s two-time Super Bowl-winning coach was optimistic.
“He’ll be back out there and we’ll see,” Reid said. “We’ll see how he does.”
Toney caught a touchdown and returned a punt 65 yards to set up another in last year’s Super Bowl, but it’s not yet clear if he will be active for this return trip to the big game.
And Toney’s status this week may provide insight into some lingering questions about both his short- and long-term football future. If the receiver does practice fully, he may be back on the field for Super Bowl Sunday. But if this off-field situation continues to play out, it begs the question if the Chiefs will eventually move on from Toney—under contract for the 2024 season with a $2.5 million base salary—rather than have him finish his deal. Because when he has been on the field this season, the results haven’t been positive, to say the least.
The former Florida standout was expected to be a potent part of one of the most dynamic passing offenses in the league this season. But that hasn’t been the case. Over 13 regular-season games, Toney caught just 27 passes for 169 yards and a lone touchdown (and negated a different K.C. score with a now-infamous offsides penalty), while dropping five passes and owning just a 66.7 passer rating when targeted.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.