Injury-Prone Chief Makes Surprise Case for Roster Spot in Preseason Finale

All eyes have been on veteran wide receiver Kadarius Toney this offseason. The oft-injured playmaker has largely disappointed since joining the Kansas City Chiefs during the 2022 NFL season, leaving much of Chiefs Kingdom to wonder if he deserved a 53-man roster spot this fall.

Toney's biggest issue has been staying healthy and, unfortunately, that trend followed him into the preseason. The former Florida product has missed time this summer due to multiple injuries, which haven't done him any favors as this year's roster deadline looms on Aug. 27.

But just when all hope seemed lost, Toney may have just saved his job with his latest preseason performance.

Chiefs News: Kadarius Toney Makes Case for 53-Man Roster

As the Chiefs fell 34-21 to the Chicago Bears in Thursday's preseason finale, Toney was one of the team's bright spots. The 25-year-old speedster caught two of his three targets for 23 receiving yards — the second-most of 10 Kansas City players who tallied at least one catch — and likely would've tallied a touchdown had it not been for an underthrown pass.

Following the loss, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid spoke with the media about Toney's outlook. The three-time Super Bowl-winning bench boss described the fourth-year WR as "talented" and that "he's in a battle to make the team."

Much like what most Chiefs fans are thinking, Reid added that Toney's main hurdle to cracking the roster is "staying healthy."

While most professional athletes deal with injuries at various points in their careers, it's hard to imagine a time when Toney wasn't banged up.

Since making his NFL debut with the New York Giants in 2021, Toney has only suited up in 32 of 51 possible games — an availability rate of just 62.7%.

Even though he made a career-high 13 appearances with the Chiefs last year, he was sidelined for the final three regular-season contests and didn't suit up once during the franchise's latest Super Bowl run.

A lot of people thought that Toney would prosper with Mahomes throwing him the ball, but that hasn't been the case.

The Mobile, AL native has been targeted 55 times since moving to Kansas City, hauling in 27 (68.3%) passes for 420 receiving yards without a touchdown. For comparison, he had 340 yards with three TDs on the same number of catches in eight fewer games with the Giants.

But even if Toney somehow cracks HC Reid's roster, it isn't guaranteed he'll see a major role. Xavier Worthy, Rashee Rice, Marquise Brown, Skyy Moore, and Justin Watson appear to be higher than him on the depth chart, meaning it'll likely take an injury or a surprise release for Toney to move up the pecking order.

The good news is that the Chiefs have more than enough talent to challenge for another title whether Toney is or isn't on the roster this season. Kansas City is set to end the preseason as FanDuel Sportsbook's +550 favorite to win Super Bowl LIX.

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