The Kansas City Chiefs have acquired wide receiver Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants for a conditional third-round pick and a sixth-round pick, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday.
Toney never seemed to be on solid ground with the new regime led by coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen. Other teams were under the impression that Toney could be had for the right price this offseason, even though Schoen insisted he never “shopped” the talented receiver.
“We just thought it was for the best of the team,” Daboll said. “Wish Kadarius well.”
Despite Daboll’s comments, neither the Giants nor the Chiefs have officially announced the trade.
Drafted in the first round by the Giants in the 2021 draft, Toney is under contract through the 2024 season with a fifth-year option for the 2025 season.
Toney has missed the Giants’ past five games because of hamstring injuries. He told reporters last week that his return has been delayed because he believes he tried to come back from an injury to his right hamstring too soon and injured his left hamstring.
Toney originally injured his right hamstring during training camp. He tweaked that same hamstring in a Week 2 win over the Carolina Panthers. The hamstring injury to his left leg occurred during an Oct. 5 practice.
The Chiefs have a bye this week, giving Toney another week to recover.
Toney has two catches for zero yards this season. He has had a rough start to his NFL career, missing 12 of a possible 24 career games because of a variety of injuries and a bout with COVID-19. He has 41 catches for 420 yards in the 12 games he has played.
He joins a wide receiver room in Kansas City that was revamped in the offseason after Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins. JuJu Smith-Schuster (494 yards) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (369 yards) were added in free agency and are ranked second and third in receiving yards for the Chiefs this season, behind star tight end Travis Kelce (553 yards).
The Chiefs appear set with their top three receivers for the remainder of this season. Smith-Schuster and Valdes-Scantling each went over 100 yards and Mecole Hardman scored three touchdowns in Sunday’s victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
In the longer term, the Chiefs have work to do at the position. Smith-Schuster is on a one-year contract, and Hardman is in the final season of the rookie contract he signed in 2019.
The acquisition of Toney continues a recent pattern for the Chiefs under general manager Brett Veach. Over the past few years, the Chiefs have brought in other high-round draft picks at minimal cost, including linebacker Reggie Ragland, offensive lineman Cameron Erving and cornerback DeAndre Baker.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan and Adam Teicher contributed to this report.
Source : ESPN
