The defending  Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs are ready with their 53-man fort. Alas, as the names were announced, some players were in for a disappointment. One of those individuals was Kadarius Toney. He was a huge help to Patrick Mahomes in the past, but times changed, and Toney was in the doghouse before he knew it.

The WR room in general has taken a massive hit in the Chiefs Kingdom. Marquise Brown dislocated his shoulder, Rashee Rice might not get to play some games due to his legal issues, and the latest signing, JuJu Smith-Schuster just doesn’t feel ready to adjust to KC offense once again. Despite massive uncertainty, Andrew Hawkins thinks Mahomes is well off without Toney.

The WR room is looking shabby right now and Laura Rutledge, the NFL Live mod wanted to know Hawkins’ thoughts on the situation. “They’re [Chiefs] trying to get stability,” Andrew Hawkins said on NFL Live. “They’re going with players that they have known to be consistent for a guy like Patrick Mahomes. Kadarius Toney has helped him win Super Bowls, that is a fact.”

However, he hasn’t been in his best form lately. Last season was the lowest point in Kadarius Toney’s career as he only recorded 169 yards in 13 games he played. The thing that stands out the most was that he scored only 1 touchdown throughout the season. He was later benched and reportedly accused the Chiefs of faking his injury. Remember he took to social media trying to expose the Kansas City team? While the controversy took many twists and turns and the player expressed how his words were taken out of context, the damage done by the outburst looked evident.

“It’s a trust issue. He has a higher drop rate than any qualifying receiver. They don’t want any problems surfacing,” Jones reported in February this year. Kadarius Toney went from going for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history and helping the team win the championship against the Eagles to a guy his team won’t even consider subbing in the Super Bowl LVIII.

He dropped 11 catches last season and even had a fumble. The last draw came during the 20-17 loss against the Buffalo Bills when he was called out for being offside. “I’m not hurt,” Toney said before a series of more profane explanations. “On God, not hurt, none of that. It go from hip to ankle to this to that. … What else? I’m in a body cast right now, at this point.” 

However, KC coach Andy Reid denied all the accusations from Toney saying, “He’s been on the injury report, [so] that part is not made up by any means.” Despite all of his botches, Andy Reid sided with Toney through thick and thin while the receiver “worked through some things.”

Kadarius Toney was living in a parallel universe 4 months ago

In April, the circumstances were completely different. In fact, Andy Reid confirmed that the receiver would stay on the roster and that he was working out with Patrick Mahomes, who was forced to stop throwing deep balls last season due to a lot of misses. But coming back to Big Red, he was praising Toney a few months ago.

“Kadarius is arguably one of the most talented guys we have on the team. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and being able to stay on the field,” Reid told the media in April. “We like Kadarius, it’s just a matter of having him on the field.” However, over the next few months, that narrative evolved into a nightmarish reality for Toney.

About a week ago, Reid took to the media and said that he was “in battle to make the team” but didn’t undermine his talent. Now, the Chiefs are finally departing with him.  Per Reid, being healthy was Kadarius Toney’s Kryptonite. But now, he has an injured Marquise Brown, a rookie Xavier Worthy, and their recent signing, Smith-Schuster, who is already familiar with Reid’s offense but doesn’t feel comfortable starting in week 1.

We don’t know the verdict on Rashee Rice’s case but there’s a surety that the NFL would impose some sort of regulation on him. However, they still have Mecole Hardman, Sky Moore, and Justin Watson to tip the tides in their favor. Thus, only their first game against Lamar Jackson-led Ravens will prove to be a test for these players and if they can synchronize with the star QB Mahomes.