Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney will be inactive for the sixth consecutive game on Sunday when the team takes on the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, but Toney says the Chiefs lied about his injury status.
In a since-deleted Instagram Live, Toney went on a profanity-laced rant that called the designation “cap,” a slang term that means a lie.
“I’m not hurt,” Toney said. “None of that s***. Save that s***.”
Toney added that the Chiefs have been inconsistent in their labeling of his injury.
“It go from hip to ankle to this to that,” Toney said. “I’m in a body cast right now at this point, huh? F*** out of here.”
The 25-year-old, whose birthday was Saturday, appears to have de-activated his account since the Live was posted, but not before a number of accounts like Barstool Sports on X, formerly Twitter, captured and posted it.
Newsweek reached out to both the Chiefs and Toney’s representation by email requesting comment.
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Toney was involved in one of the more dramatic moments of the Chiefs’ season. Facing the Buffalo Bills in Week 14, Toney caught an ad-libbed lateral from Travis Kelce in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter and appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown. Instead, officials threw a flag and ruled that Toney had lined up offsides. The call enraged Patrick Mahomes, but the Chiefs went on to lose 20-17, although they avenged their loss with another dramatic moment in their 27-24 Division Round victory over the Bills last week.
Toney drew criticism for failing to check if he was onsides, but Kelce defended the receiver on his New Heights podcast in the week following the failed lateral.
“I love KT,” Kelce said. “If we get the opportunity again, I’m going to throw that s*** right to his chest again. Hopefully it gets there. I got all the faith in the world in that dude. He’s one of our best players. He’s one of the best players we’ve got with the ball in his hands. You turn on the film, you watch what he does when the ball is in his hands and you can’t tell me you don’t want that guy on your team. Everybody hating on KT right now, I’m not trying to hear that. You can f****** miss me with it. I’m trusting in one-nine every time he’s out on the field.”
Toney has caught 27 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown this season.
The Chiefs and Ravens kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday in Baltimore.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.