Revisiting The Kadarius Toney Trade: Who Won?
Image by Michael Chow | The Republic
Kansas City, Missouri (PSF) — With the Kansas City Chiefs claiming victory over Philadelphia Eagles this past Sunday, many Giants fans rejoiced as they did not have to watch their hated rival lift the Lombardi. Many claimed that the Giants were the reason the Chiefs even won the game in the first place (indirectly of course). Kadarius Toney, a former Giant who was traded to KC after multiple off-the-field issues in New York, may have had two of the most important plays of the game. When the trade first happened, it seemed as if the Chiefs and Giants both won, the Chiefs get an explosive wide receiver and the Giants get picks for a guy who did not want to play for them. Looking back at it now, there’s an argument for both teams, you be the judge.
Kansas City
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Kadarius Toney provided a spark for the Chiefs when he was on the field he had 16 receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns including one in the Super Bowl. Throughout his career, he has not been able to stay healthy and ended up missing three games in Kansas City after being injured for most of his career in New York. However, he is nearly impossible to tackle in the open field as seen by Eagles players in what ended up being the game-winning 65-yard punt return to set up the game-winning field goal. Toney breaks tackles like it’s nothing and it is not far-fetched to give “Human Joystick” comparisons as he and Dante Hall have the same jukes and burst. If he can stay on the field, Kadarius will certainly be a foundational piece on a team that’s aiming for a dynasty.
New York
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New York seemed to escape the Toney drama with this trade. Kadarius had been problematic since his drafting in 2020. He had not been on the field for longer than three games at a time and aside from a game in Dallas in 2021, he did nearly nothing to help the Giants’ offense. Getting a conditional third and sixth in this year’s draft are important pieces for the Giants who are building on an impressive year. While the Giants’ wide receiving corps were depleted, they felt they had to make this move because Toney was a cancer for their locker room. We will see what the Giants do with the extra picks and watching Toney ball has been hard for Giants fans, (myself included) but it was a trade they were forced to make.