PHOENIX — Mostly, Kadarius Toney looked down, the gray Super Bowl 57 hoodie pulled over his head, which was covered with a gray Chiefs knit hat. For a moment, though, Toney looked up, when asked about all the uproar around him.
“It’s really breathtaking,’’ Toney said Monday night. “This is probably like the biggest thing I’ll ever be in. I’m just taking it all in right now.’’
There is life after the Giants for Toney, the 2021 first-round draft pick who did not make it through two full seasons with the team that had such high hopes for him. Toney, as a member of the Chiefs, is in the Super Bowl and who would have envisioned that when he was on the losing end of so many games with the Giants?
“It feels awesome, man,’’ he said during the Super Bowl Opening Night event at Footprint Center, where the Suns play basketball.
The new Giants regime of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll did not draft Toney but they harbored no ill will towards him as they inherited him on the roster. Toney caught two passes (for zero yards) in the first two games of the 2022 season, aggravated a right hamstring strain and missed the next five games. Enough was enough. On Oct. 28, the Giants shipped Toney to the Chiefs, getting back two 2023 draft choices — a compensatory third-round pick and a sixth-round pick.
“At the end of the day it wasn’t my decision,’’ Toney said. “I’m in a position where I’m just grateful to be here. God’s got a plan and I just stick to it, regardless. I don’t have any comments about [the trade], it is what it is. I don’t run the business side, I just play.’’
The Giants could not deal with Toney’s lack of availability, what was viewed as a lackluster approach to rehabbing his injuries and a less-than-robust zeal for mastering the playbook. One Giants executive wondered if Toney thought much about football, inside or outside the building.
The flicker of light that showed Toney as a dynamic pass-catcher came in back-to-back games his rookie season of 2021. In Week 4, he caught six passes for 78 yards to help the Giants upset the Saints in New Orleans. A week later, the Cowboys could barely lay a glove on Toney as he darted and dashed his way to 10 receptions for 189 yards. He was ejected from that game for fighting though, and the Giants lost badly in Arlington, Texas.
Toney’s totals with the Giants: 41 receptions for 420 yards, five rushing attempts for 29 yards and one completion on three pass attempts for 19 yards.
If he is reflective about his time with the Giants, Toney keeps those feelings to himself.
“I observed and I lived through everything that went on,’’ Toney said. “That’s their decision and here I am.’’
He said he still keeps up with some of his former teammates.
“As far as the organization, for what?’’ Toney said. “I got my own organization.’’
Toney has been more productive with the Chiefs, mainly because he could not have been less productive than he was with the Giants. In seven games, he had 14 catches for 171 yards and the first two touchdowns of his NFL career. Having Patrick Mahomes as your quarterback helps.
“He’s really electric,’’ Toney said. “You just never know when it’s coming. He’s always a step ahead.’’
The 24-year-old wide receiver is dealing with a sprained left ankle, a new injury suffered while catching a pass late in the first quarter of the Chiefs’ 23-20 victory over the Bengals in the AFC Championship game. This is a recurring deal with Toney. The Giants took the field 24 times during Toney’s tenure and he suited up only 12 times, sidelined with a list of ailments that eventually sounded like the first 10 multiple-choice answers for an entry-level anatomy course exam.
Toney said he practiced on Monday and believes he will be able to play on Sunday.
“Every injury is frustrating,’’ he said. “The importance of the games and the importance of the situation to be in, it’s more frustrating. At the end of the day it’s a mindset thing. If you can’t physically play you can’t play but if you want to play you’re gonna find a way.’’