KC Chiefs HC Andy Reid Comments On Kadarius Toney's Instagram Rant, Status With Team
The Kansas City Chiefs are back from Baltimore, returning home from an AFC Championship Game as winners for the second season in a row.
On Monday afternoon, head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media via Zoom following his team's 17-10 triumph over the Ravens in the conference title game. He tipped his cap to players and staff alike for a job well done, but perhaps the most interesting tidbit he discussed pertained to someone who didn't even play in the game.
On the morning of the AFC Championship Game, wide receiver Kadarius Toney took to Instagram Live and addressed his injury status. Saying he's "not hurt" and urging someone to "go tell 'em what's really going on," the third-year man went on an explicit rant in which he appeared to accuse the Chiefs of mismanaging his injury designations. This came after Kansas City downgraded Toney from questionable to out on Saturday due to a hip injury and personal reasons.
While Reid hasn't seen the video itself, he said he heard about it. He claims the former first-round pick is indeed injured, also revealing whether Toney will practice with the team moving forward.
"Yeah, well, obviously he's been on the injury report," Reid said. "So that part, that's not made up by any means. But he's been working through some things — he'll be back out there."
Toney was a full participant in practice last Wednesday with his listed hip ailment, being bumped down to a limited participant on Thursday and Friday. He hasn't played since Week 15 against the New England Patriots, a game that saw him log 26 offensive snaps. It's been a disappointing season for Toney, who hauled in 27 passes for just 169 yards and a touchdown in 13 regular season games. A knee injury held him out of the entire preseason, then ankle and hip injuries have since bothered him throughout the year.
On Sunday, Joshua Brisco of Arrowhead Report wrote about Toney's rant and why it's unfortunate for everyone. Despite a tweet from James Palmer of NFL Network revealing Toney's personal reason — welcoming his first child into the world — Toney still felt compelled to set his own record straight. That made the situation even more perplexing:
Whoever wanted to get that information out there thought it would be good for the world to know that Toney's "personal reason' was the birth of his first child. Palmer also noted that his hip injury was, theoretically, real. The alternative? The Chiefs publicly acknowledge that Toney has been healthy enough to play, but that he's just not worth putting on the field.
That fact would be even more damning than his video. If Toney has to confront that he simply couldn't take advantage of the NFL's best quarterback/head coach combination and perhaps the league's thinnest wide receiver group, he should probably stop looking at his phone and start looking in the mirror.
According to Reid, the Chiefs will have a team meeting on Monday afternoon and then get a couple of days off. Once everyone returns on Thursday, preparation for Super Bowl LVIII begins. The team will aim to have its game plan installed by the time it arrives in Las Vegas for a busy week leading up to a huge game against the San Francisco 49ers. Should Toney practice, time will tell whether it's more of a formality or an actual effort by the team to get him involved in the most important game of the season.
