Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney gets positive update on knee injury

Some positive news came out of Kansas City this week regarding the health of Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney.

This offseason, Toney underwent a cleanup procedure on his knee, which was aggravated on Sunday during the team’s first training camp practice while catching punts. But ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Monday that Toney is still expected to be ready to go for the Chiefs to start of the regular season, but is also expected to miss some time during training camp due to the injury.

Toney is no stranger to injuries, which have played a factor in each of his two seasons in the NFL so far during his career. He was selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, appearing in just 10 games for the team in his rookie season after missing four weeks of the season due to an oblique injury and spending time on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

He missed five games for the Giants last season following a hamstring injury suffered in Week 2, but then was traded to Kansas City on October 27 for a third and a sixth-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft. He made his Chiefs debut on November 6 versus the Tennessee Titans, appearing in nine regular season games for Kansas City and playing a crucial role in their postseason run last season.

“We’re going to miss KT, his ability to make a play out of nowhere and kind of gain that momentum,” tight end Travis Kelce said according to Chiefs beat writer Matt Derrick. “He was that piece for us in the Super Bowl, he was that piece for us throughout the season last year. Just getting that thing right – we’ve got all the confidence in the world in our training staff here to get him ready either by season or early on in the season. Got our fingers crossed that we get him back as soon as possible. It’s just letting him heal up and we’ll take care of the load until he gets back. But KT ain’t going anywhere, man, we miss that guy already.”

Toney had five catches in the Chiefs’ divisional playoff matchup versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, then just one grab in the AFC Championship before leaving the game with an injury.

He was activated right before the Super Bowl and made his mark on the game, giving Kansas City their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter with a five-yard touchdown reception. He followed that the longest punt return in Super Bowl history, returning a punt for 65 yards on the following drive to set Kansas City up for another touchdown to extend their lead and help secure them a Super Bowl victory.

He came up big for the Chiefs when it mattered most last season, and hopefully, he can return to the team fully healthy this upcoming season to make a big impact yet again.