Kadarius Toney was released by a third team.
Cleveland Browns waived Toney on Tuesday after committing several errors in Sunday’s 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A first-round pick of the Giants in 2020, Toney has now been traded by the Giants and released by the Chiefs and Browns over the course of four NFL seasons. His latest dismissal comes after two unforced errors against the Steelers on special teams.
During the fourth quarter, Toney Fair caught a punt at the Cleveland 36-yard line. He then began chatting with Steelers players before throwing the ball to Steelers special teamer Ben Skowronek after Skowronek turned his back on Toney.
That mistake earned Toney a 15-yard taunting penalty that brought the Browns back to their 21-yard line.
Then, later in the fourth quarter, Toney failed to muster another Steelers punt. With Pittsburgh leading, 27-14 and 2:57 to play, Toney fumbled a punt at the Cleveland 21-yard line. Skowronek – the guy Toney threw the ball to just moments earlier – recovered the muff for a Steelers takeaway.
The turnover allowed the Steelers to run out the clock, scuttling any long-term hopes of a Browns rally.
Now Toney is unemployed.
Toney’s wild run in the NFL
Toney’s career has been a roller coaster since joining the NFL with the Giants as the No. 20 pick in the 2021 draft. The Giants used a first-round pick on Toney despite high-profile issues on and off the field while he was in college in Florida.
Toney played in 12 games in New York before the Giants traded him to the Chiefs two games into his second NFL season. Toney then spent more than one season with the Chiefs, marked by remarkable ups and downs.
Toney played a key role in Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory 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, giving the Chiefs another touchdown to go up 35-27 in their 38-35 victory.
He was not a key contributor to Kansas City’s Super Bowl the following season. Toney was inactive for the final four weeks of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, including Kansas City’s Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers. During this period of inactivity, Toney fought with the Chiefs on social media claiming the team lied about his injury.
The Chiefs waived Toney during the offseason. The Browns then signed him to their practice squad in September, and he played in three games for the team before his release on Tuesday.
Over four seasons in the NFL, Toney had 82 catches for 760 yards with three touchdowns. He returned 21 punts for an average of 7.8 yards per return with no touchdowns.
