Where’s the Tylenol? Chiefs predicted to relieve themselves of major headache

The Kansas City Chiefs hoisted another Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, but they were far from dominant during the 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

The Chiefs were held to just one touchdown during regulation — and even that score came after San Francisco’s special teams blunder gifted the ball to Kansas City at the 16-yard line in the third quarter.

The Super Bowl was a perfect representation of Kansas City’s season. They leaned on their defense, waited for the opponent to make a mistake, and then allowed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to clinch the game at the end.

It’s a recipe Kansas City was forced to follow after an abysmal campaign from their offensive unit. The Chiefs offense was plagued by mental lapses, turnstile offensive tackles, and dropped passes. 

Kansas City general manager Brett Veach spent the offseason bolstering the offensive line and wide receiver corps, which could allow the Chiefs to move on from some of the players that caused their ailments.

The Chiefs currently have 90 players on their training camp roster, and they’ll have to make some difficult decisions to whittle it down to 53 active players by the regular season.

Kadarius Toney’s time with the Chiefs may be coming to an end

Chiefs Wire’s John Dillon released a 53-man roster projection on Monday, and there was one notable name missing: wide receiver Kadarius Toney. 

Kansas City restocked their wide receiver room during the offseason. The Chiefs signed wide receiver Marquise Brown in free agency and selected Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy with the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Brown and Worthy will join wide receiver Rashee Rice, allowing the Chiefs an opportunity to part ways with Toney, who was one of the key culprits of Kansas City’s offensive maladies in 2023. 

The Chiefs led the league with 44 dropped passes, five of which were credited to Toney. In a Week 14 matchup against the Buffalo Bills, Toney was called for an offside penalty, negating what would have been a go-ahead touchdown with one minute remaining. The following week, Toney’s dropped pass turned into an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

Toney did not play again for the remainder of the season. The Super Bowl marked the seventh consecutive game that Kansas City placed Toney on the inactive list. The Chiefs claimed Toney’s designation was injury-related, but the disgruntled wide receiver disputes those claims with a profanity-laden rant on social media and critical comments of the team prior to the Super Bowl.

Kansas City acquired the former first-round pick in a midseason trade with the New York Giants during the 2022 season. The injury-plagued receiver won over Kansas City fans with his performance in Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles. Toney set a Super Bowl record with a 65-yard punt return in the fourth quarter, then caught a touchdown pass that gave the Chiefs their first lead of the game.

After his 2023 campaign, however, Toney seems to have worn out his welcome in Kansas City.