ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kadarius Toney, who projects as the Kansas City Chiefs’ top wide receiver for the 2023 season, had surgery Tuesday to repair a partial tear in his meniscus, a ligament in the knee that provides cushion between the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone).
The Chiefs haven’t ruled out Toney for the Sept. 7 season opener against Detroit at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, but it will be a tight timeline. The typical recovery time for meniscus surgery is six to eight weeks.
“There's a chance for the first game, but we'll see,” Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. “We'll just have to see how the recovery goes with him, but he's bound and determined he's going to be there for the first game.”
Reid said Toney is “a smart kid” and “picks stuff up fairly easy” when it comes to the playbook, so “getting back into football shape” will be a tougher task than mastering the offense during training camp.
“We got a lot of reps in this summer in the offseason, so I think that helped out a ton,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “His talent — everybody knows how talented he is. I’m just excited for him to learn the offense from the start. Last year, he picked it up when we were in advanced mode. Now, he gets to see the beginner and work his way through it.”
Toney, a speedy 6-foot former first-round pick from the University of Florida, was traded to Kansas City in October 2022. He had 14 catches for 171 yards with two touchdowns and also scored a rushing touchdown in seven games with the Chiefs last season after the trade.
During Super Bowl LVII, Toney had the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter, then authored the longest punt return in Super Bowl history to help extend the Chiefs’ lead en route to a 38-35 win against Philadelphia.
Reid said the timing of Toney’s injury, which happened as he returned a punt Sunday before the first veteran practice, isn’t terrible.
“I think getting it done now is a good thing, as opposed to it lingering then getting worse and worse,” Reid said. “I'm glad he got it knocked out and done.”
Despite the nature of the injury and Toney’s expected role in the offense, Reid said it was too early to decide if he’d continue to return punts.
“Let's see how the rehab part goes,” Reid said.
Mahomes said the offense changes without Toney, but that’s always true depending on the personnel on the field.
He believes second-year receiver Skyy Moore and rookie Rashee Rice “will step up along with guys like Marquez (Valdes-Scantling) and Justin (Watson),” Mahomes said. “We have a lot of tight ends and we have a lot of depth on this entire team this year. I’m just excited for guys to go out there and seize their opportunity.”
Veteran Richie James Jr., who signed with the Chiefs in the offseason after four seasons with the Giants, has impressed during the early day of camp and Mahomes also mentioned a growing rapport with Justyn Ross.
Kansas City's roster also includes veteran speedster John Brown along with additional receiving depth.
Mahomes said he expects Toney to stay engaged in the preseason process despite the injury and to be ready whenever he's cleared to play in the regular season.
“I think his head’s in the right spot regardless,” Mahomes said. “He came in with the mentality that he was going to work and get himself better. ... He’s in all the meetings, he’s still watching film with me and we’re talking through everything that we’re doing. As long as his head’s right there and he’s learning that way, I have no doubt that his physical ability will be there.”
Toney previously had arthroscopic knee surgery during the 2022 offseason when he was with the New York Giants.
He gently corrected ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who initially reported yesterday that Toney had surgery again during the 2023 offseason.
In other injury news, defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton (ACL repair) remains on the physically unable to perform, or PUP, list and has yet to practice.
Running back Isiah Pacheco (labrum/hand) participated in seven-on-seven drills for the first time in camp but remained in a yellow non-contact jersey.
The only new addition to the Chiefs’ walking wounded was rookie linebacker Isaiah Moore (knee), who was limited with knee inflammation.
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