Kadarius Toney’s injury ‘not made up’ after WR accuses Chiefs of lying about it

National Football League

Published Jan. 29, 2024 2:55 p.m. ET

Chiefs coach Andy Reid denied providing inaccurate injury information about Kadarius Toney on Monday after the wide receiver went on an expletive-laden social media rant in which he appeared to accuse the team of lying about his health.

Toney was ruled out of Sunday’s AFC championship win in Baltimore because of his hip and personal reasons following the birth of his daughter. But in an Instagram Live post, the 25-year-old Toney insisted amid a stream of expletives that, “I’m not hurt.”

“Well, obviously he’s been on the injury report,” Reid replied, when asked about the post on a Zoom call with local reporters Monday. “That part is not made up by any means. He’s been working through some things, and he’ll be back out there.”

The Chiefs return to practice Thursday. They face San Francisco in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.

Teams and coaches can be fined by the NFL for issuing inaccurate or misleading injury reports. In December, then-Falcons coach Arthur Smith was fined $25,000 and the team $75,000 for failing to disclose that running back Bijan Robinson was dealing with an illness that had limited him in a game against Tampa Bay earlier in the season.

Toney has not played since Week 15 against New England, when he let a pass slip through his hands for an interception. He also had a dropped pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown in Week 1 against Detroit, and his much-publicized offside penalty in Week 14 against Buffalo wiped out a go-ahead touchdown reception in the closing minutes.

Reid said he had not seen Toney’s social media post, but heard people discussing it. When asked whether Toney remained on the team, Reid replied: “He’ll be back out there, and we’ll see how he does.”

The Chiefs traded third- and sixth-round picks to the Giants for Toney in October 2022, hoping to unlock the potential they saw in him coming out of Florida. And despite dealing with injuries last season, too, Toney delivered in the playoffs. He had five catches in a divisional-round win over Jacksonville and a touchdown reception in a Super Bowl win over Philadelphia.

The Chiefs hoped Toney would take another step toward becoming a reliable big-play threat this season. Instead, Toney dropped numerous passes and made other costly mental mistakes, and had just 27 catches for 169 yards in the regular season.

Kansas City has played some of its best football on offense since Toney has been out with his hip injury. Rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice has developed into a star, Marquez Valdes-Scantling has come alive with several big catches in the postseason, and reliable journeyman Justin Watson has helped to take pressure off tight end Travis Kelce.

Kelce had 11 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown against the Ravens. Rice had eight catches for 46 yards.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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