Even injuries aren’t expected to stop long-awaited Chiefs cut

The Kansas City Chiefs feel dangerously close to immortality. Patrick Mahomes covers up so many flaws on the roster. At first glance, this Chiefs offense should not be the best in football. And yet, because Mahomes is Mahomes, defenses are often left scrambling for solutions that are simply beyond them. Especially in the playoffs.

Mahomes is a three-time Super Bowl MVP at 28. Tom Brady didn't net his third until he was 38. Now, the Chiefs have a chance to make history and three-peat in 2025. There's a lot of football until that happens, but the Chiefs are unambiguous favorites. There is quite literally no way to pick against them right now.

Despite the Chiefs' impressive stature in the NFL hierarchy, it would be pure fiction to paint Kansas City as unassailable. There are exploitable weaknesses on the roster, and few stand out more vividly than the WR room. Kansas City burned its first-round pick on Texas' Xavier Worthy, who is a worthy successor to the Tyreek Hill role (... get it?). Anyhow, a rookie wideout probably won't solve all of the Chiefs' issues, especially as injuries and absences start to stack up.

Hollywood Brown, Kansas City's big offseason addition at the position, will miss a few weeks with a "sternoclavicular joint dislocation." We are just waiting for the Rashee Rice suspension. It doesn't appear imminent, but it's a matter of when, not if. The Chiefs' weak WR room is only getting weaker, so it stands to reason that Kansas City will cling tight to the healthy, available receivers on the roster, right?

Well, not necessarily. Not even injuries are enough to secure guaranteed passage to Week 1 for Kadarius Toney. Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox explains why Toney is on the chopping block for the Chiefs.

"While Toney still has elite athletic upside, a Super Bowl contender like the Chiefs simply can't waste a roster spot on a player it can't trust. Brown, once healthy, and Worthy bring plenty of breakaway ability to the offense, which should make Toney expendable."

Kadarius Toney isn't expected to last to regular season on Chiefs roster

The Chiefs briefly experimented with Kadarius Toney at running back this summer, but that strategy has not borne fruit. Knox's argument is simple — that Kansas City cannot trust Toney, which is undeniably and unfortunately true.

A first-round pick in the 2020 draft, Toney has plenty of athleticism and perceived upside. He's 25, so it is too early to close the book on his NFL career. The Chiefs are in win-now mode with a limited allocation of resources, though. Toney dropped five passes last season compared to only 27 receptions and he was responsible for one singular touchdown.

The production just hasn't been there. Mahomes cannot rely on Toney late in games and the Chiefs' offense stalled on more than one occasion last season because of Toney's individual miscues. Mahomes can elevate receives with the best of 'em, but that just paints a more damning portrait of Toney. If he cannot succeed with Mahomes tossing the pigskin, can he succeed anywhere?

He's sure to get a chance when the time comes, but it won't come without a fight. Toney will need to work his way from the ground up, grinding his way through position battles and scrapping to impress coaches in limited practice reps. Andy Reid has covered for Toney countless times, even gone out of his way to build up Toney's confidence after poor outings. At a certain point, the Chiefs just can't afford patience anymore.

The Brown injury is a complicating factor, but the Chiefs need to look for upgrades at the WR position regardless. There's not much incentive to keep Toney around if he's not impacting winning.