Kadarius Toney has been dismissed by a third team.
The Cleveland Browns waived Toney on Tuesday after he committed multiple blunders 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 dismissal arrives 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 commenced in jawing with Steelers players before throwing the ball at Steelers special teamer Ben Skowronek after Skowronek turned his back to Toney.
That miscue earned Toney a 15-yard taunting penalty that set the Browns back to their 21-yard line.
Then, later in the fourth quarter, Toney failed to corral another Steelers punt. With Pittsburgh leading, 27-14 and 2:57 remaining, Toney muffed a punt at the Cleveland 21-yard line. Skowronek — the guy Toney threw the ball at just moments earlier — recovered the muff for a Steelers takeaway.
The turnover allowed the Steelers to run out the clock, scuttling any long-shot hopes of a Browns rally.
Now, Toney is out of a job.
Toney’s wild NFL ride
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 he was 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 noted by remarkable highs and lows.
Toney was a key contributor in 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 go up 35-27 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 during the entire postseason including Kansas City’s Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers. During that inactive period, Toney sparred with the Chiefs on social media with claims that the team lied about him being injured.
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 Tuesday.
In parts of four NFL seasons, Toney has 82 catches for 760 yards with three touchdowns. He’s returned 21 punts for an average of 7.8 yards per return with no touchdowns.
