KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City head coach Andy Reid is looking forward to the the impact former first-round pick Kadarius Toney can have on the offense after he was acquired in a trade last week.
During Monday's media availability, Reid spoke to Toney's injury status and how he can help the Chiefs as they get deeper into the season.
"He is healthy right now, which is a good thing," Reid said. "[We] look forward to getting him in the mix somehow. We're working through that."
Toney joins a receiving core coming off their most productive game of the season so far. As a team already loaded with offensive weapons starts to find its groove, Reid spoke on their continued search for balance at that position.
"We've got one football and we got a few guys that we like to get the ball to," Reid said. "We'll see how he fits in."
With 10 games still left to go in the regular season, Reid understands that it will take some time for Toney to get acclimated to the offense.
"I'm not expecting him to learn the whole offense in a day," Reid said.
The second-year wide receiver has had a rocky start to his NFL career. Toney conflicted with former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge during a rookie season that finished with 39 receptions and zero touchdowns in just 10 games.
Despite the Giants hiring former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their head coach in his second year, Toney struggled, snagging only two catches for zero yards and hitting the field for just two games due to a hamstring injury.
Toney has also been underutilized at the professional level as a return specialist, with only one punt return and zero kickoff returns in 12 career games. In contrast, he averaged 21.6 yards per kick return and 11.6 yards per punt return in 38 games at the University of Florida.
"He's had experience with that in college, he was actually very good in college at that," Reid said. "Not as much in the NFL as in college, but we know he has that potential."
It's possible that Toney could be a part of the team's long-term plans, as he has two years remaining on his rookie contract. He'll count $3.7 million against the salary cap in 2023 and $4.4 million in 2024, according to Over the Cap.
The Chiefs will also have a fifth-year option on Toney's rookie deal, which would have to be exercised after the 2023 season.
"We're always trying to stay two to three years down the road on that part," Reid said on Toney's potential long-term impact. "Our financial guys do a great job with that and likewise, [Brett] Veach does a great job,"
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