What a difference a year has made for Kadarius Toney.
After setting the NFL record for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history in last year's title bout and helping the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, the receiver isn't expected to play against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Sunday that Toney won't be among the players suiting up for Super Bowl LVIII.
This means that Toney's season effectively ended on Dec. 17 when the Chiefs played at the New England Patriots, as the embattled wideout hasn't played since that regular season game. He ended 2023 with 27 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown.
Kansas City didn't use Toney at all during this year's playoff run, and things came to a head right before the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 28. Leading up to the game, the Chiefs nixed Toney from the active 53, citing personal reasons and a hip injury.
Leading into the weekend, news broke that Toney's first child was born, which explained the personal reasons. But Toney would soon take to Instagram live to say that the injury designation was a lie, and that he didn't have any injury that would impact his game status.
This forced Kansas City head coach Andy Reid to refute to the allegation of the Chiefs fabricating an injury. Toney later came out to apologize and say he was never talking about the Chiefs, but the New York Giants — the team that drafted him 20th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.
When Reid was later asked about whether Toney would even join the team in Las Vegas, let alone play, he said the receiver would practice with the group and they would see.
This puts a bow on a season in which Toney started the year with several critical drops in the season opener versus the Detroit Lions and ended the year with a dropped pass that was intercepted by the Patriots.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes showed visible frustration in the aftermath of that play, as it also came a game after Toney was flagged for his infamous offsides penalty that negated his go-ahead touchdown in Kansas City's 20-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Toney has only one more year remaining on his rookie contract.
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