Kadarius Toney is out by the third team.
Toney was waived by the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday after he made multiple mistakes in Sunday’s 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A first-round draft pick by the Giants in 2020, Toney has now been traded by the Giants and released by the Chiefs and Browns in four NFL seasons. His latest sack came after two unforced errors against the Steelers on special teams.
During the fourth quarter, Tony Fair caught a punt at the Cleveland 36-yard line. He then began jawing with Steelers players after throwing the ball at Steelers special teams player Ben Skoronek after Skoronek turned to Toney.
The mistake earned Toney a 15-yard taunting penalty that returned the Browns to their 21-yard line.
Then, later in the fourth quarter, Toney failed to recover on another Steelers punt. With Pittsburgh leading, 27-14, with 2:57 remaining, Tony Cleveland fumbled a punt at the 21-yard line. Skowronek — the guy Tony threw the ball to just moments before — recovered the muff for a Steelers takeaway.
The turnover allowed the Steelers to run out the clock, killing any long-shot hopes of a Browns rally.
Now, Tony is out of a job.
Tony’s wild NFL journey
Toney’s career has been a roller coaster since he joined the NFL with the Giants as the No. 20 pick in the 2021 draft. The Giants used a first-round pick on Toney despite well-publicized on- and off-field issues while in college at Florida.
Toney lasted 12 games in New York before the Giants traded him to the Chiefs two games into his second NFL season. Toney then spent a season plus with the Chiefs marked by significant highs and lows.
Tony was a key contributor to Kansas City’s Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023. He caught a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes that gave the Chiefs a 28-27 lead. He then returned a punt 65 yards to the Philadelphia 5-yard line that set up another Chiefs touchdown to give them a 35–27 lead in their 38–35 win.
He was not a key contributor to Kansas City’s Super Bowl run the following season. Toney was inactive for the final four weeks of the regular season and the entire postseason, including Kansas City’s Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers. During that inactive period, Toney took to social media with the Chiefs claiming the team lied about his injury.
The Chiefs waived Toney in the offseason. The Browns then signed him to their practice squad in September, and he played three games for the team before his release on Tuesday.
In parts of four NFL seasons, Toney has 82 catches for 760 yards with three touchdowns. He returned 21 punts for an average of 7.8 yards per return with no touchdowns.
