Chiefs gamble at wide receiver could already be biting them back

Chiefs wideout Kadarius Toney was always going to be a liability on the 2023 roster. His recent injury just confirms that fact.

Kansas City Chiefs wideout Kadarius Toney probably shouldn’t have been talking so much smack before the 2023 season.

Toney, who has struggled with lower-body injuries throughout his entire NFL career, just hit a snag in Chiefs preseason. He suffered a partially torn meniscus while returning a kick during Sunday’s training camp session and underwent surgery to clean up some of the cartilage in his knee on Tuesday.

If the glass is half full, Toney’s knee fully heals and he stays healthy for the rest of the season. If the glass is half empty, Toney may experience some complications from the surgery, or even pick up another injury this preseason. And it’s only July.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid believes that “there’s a chance” Toney will be recover in time for the season-opener on September 7, but those words don’t inspire much confidence. Considering Toney’s lengthy injury history, Chiefs fans — and fantasy football fans — could be in for a long and bumpy ride.

Chiefs are paying the price for betting on Kadarius Toney

Last year, Kansas City traded a couple of draft picks to the Giants for Toney, who was their first-round pick in 2021. In New York, Toney played just 12 total games due to injuries, the most prevalent of which has been a hamstring issue that nagged him last season.

That’s not to say Toney didn’t make a resounding impact in his first stint with the Chiefs. In nine games, he recorded 171 yards and two touchdowns, and every Chiefs fan can pinpoint the exact moment they hopped on his bandwagon: when Toney completed a 65-yard punt return in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, the longest ever recorded in Super Bowl history.

This year, Toney was supposed to prove his consistency in his first full season with the reigning champs as one of the most explosive and electric play-making weapons in the receiver room. With JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman leaving for greener grass, Toney carried a sizeable portion of expectations heading into training camp.

Catching the injury earlier rather than later and allowing Toney time to heal before the start of the season may be a positive sign for Chiefs kingdom. Or, it may only serve as a bitter precursor for the inevitable drama to come.