PHOENIX — Players come and go and are acquired in all shapes and sizes.
Rarely, though, does a player arrive during a season possessing the ability Kadarius Toney displays, at times, on the field.
“You just don’t get ‘em,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday at the NFL owners meetings at the Arizona Biltmore, chuckling. “He’s very talented.”
The Chiefs “just got” Toney on October 28, when the Giants gave up on their 2021 first-round pick and dealt him to Kansas City for a compensatory third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
At the time, Toney had missed five consecutive games with hamstring strains in both his legs.
In the two games he played in 2022, Toney had two receptions for zero yards and two rushes for 23 yards.
The new Giants regime of general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll tried to make it work with Toney but eventually decided to ship him out.
In two seasons, Toney played in only 12 of 24 games and contributed 41 catches for 420 yards and zero touchdowns.
It took Toney time to heal after the trade and he eventually got in seven regular-season games for the Chiefs, catching 14 passes for 171 yards and his first two NFL touchdowns.
“Kadarius did a nice job for us,” Reid said. “He came in and did what we asked. We had to rest him for a while with the hamstring, we tried to get that back and I could see where he wanted to rush things back and get back in there — he loves to play. We backed up and let it heal and he was good after that.”
As far as Toney’s attitude — it was not always exemplary with the Giants — Reid said, “He was great. I don’t know all the stuff there but I just know he was great with us. He fit right in and did a nice job.”
Without Toney, the Chiefs likely would not have been able to come back and defeat the Eagles 38-35 in Super Bowl 2023.
He used his start-stop ability while in motion at the line of scrimmage to break free for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 12:04 remaining to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game at 28-27.
Toney’s misdirection sold the play, dubbed “Corn dog” by Reid.
Toney followed that up by escaping capture on a Super Bowl record 65-yard punt return to the Eagles’ 5-yard line, setting up a Patrick Mahomes scoring pass to Skyy Moore for a 35-27 Chiefs lead.
Before the touchdown reception, Reid made sure to check in with Toney on the sideline.
“He wasn’t playing much up to that point and his number wasn’t getting dialed up just with the plays we had we were calling,” Reid said. “I wanted to make sure he wasn’t frustrated. He kept himself together and he was able to put together those two plays that were phenomenal.”
The Giants sent the third round pick they gained in the Toney deal — the 100th overall pick — to the Raiders for tight end Darren Waller on March 15.
