Andy Reid defends Kadarius Toney after drops vs. Lions

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid hasn’t lost faith in Kadarius Toney. After the Chiefs’ 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions, Reid discussed his wide receiver’s disappointing performance.

“That’s just not his thing,” Reid said, per ESPN. “He’s not a guy that drops balls. He’s got great hands, so we just got to keep working through it.”

In the loss, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw five passes Toney’s way. The former Florida Gator caught one of them for five yards. He also dropped three passes. Worse, Toney essentially handed one of the drops to Lions DB Brian Branch, who took it to end zone to tie the game at 14-14 with about 11 minutes to go in the third quarter. 

The Chiefs acquired Toney last season in a trade with the New York Giants. After a solid back half of the 2022 season, Kansas City had plans to involve Toney more often this season. Reid claims one poor showing doesn’t affect those plans.

“The only way we’re going to get him back is by playing him,” Reid said. “I think you’ll see better as we go down the road here from him.”

Expected hiccups for Kadarius Toney

In fairness, Toney is likely still shaking off some rust. Toney suffered a knee injury in late July and missed most of fall training camp. His time off was evident in Kansas City’s season opener. Reid took some of the blame for Toney’s subpar play.

“I thought him getting in the game was important, but to be fair I’ve got to kind of look in the mirror on that one,” Reid said. “I probably didn’t put him in the best position there because he doesn’t drop the ball. That’s just not his deal. He’s a very, very secure catcher.

“I thought it was important that he got in the game, got caught up on the speed, but I probably put him in bad positions there, especially later in the game. He’s still getting his legs back and all that.”

Reid isn’t the only who still believes in the young wide receiver.

“Stuff’s not always going to go your way, obviously. He would’ve wanted to catch a few of those in the game,” Mahomes said of Toney. “But I have trust that he’s gonna be that guy that I go to in those crucial moments, and he’s gonna make the catch and win us some seasons like he did last year. So we’re gonna continue to work him in, get him more and more reps, and I’m sure those drops will kind of disappear.”

Toney will have a chance to make up for his mistakes on Sunday when the Chiefs take on the Chicago Bears at 4:25 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.