KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kadarius Toney probably will be sidelined for the remainder of training camp and veteran speedster John Ross has retired from the NFL.
So, where does that leave the Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver room and how might it impact the decisions General Manager Brett Veach, coach Andy Reid and his staff regarding the 53-man roster?
How concerning is Toney’s injury?
The Chiefs were counting on Toney, who had knee surgery after “tweaking” his knee before practice Sunday while returning a punt, as a top option for quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The bad news is that he may not be available to start the season, but the good news is that he should be back sometime in September — maybe even in time for the Sept. 7 opener against Detroit.
Kansas City hasn’t ruled Toney out yet, nor is there any need to six weeks before the game.
That said, the typical recovery time for meniscus surgery is six to eight weeks and history says Toney will need to show Reid he’s ready to roll in practice before he sees the field.
If you squint, that makes returning by Sept. 7 possible, but I’m not sure I’d call it likely. The Chiefs avoided the worst outcome, a long-term injury that lingered months into the regular season, so the Kingdom should breathe easy.
Who’s left at wide receiver?
The cupboard is hardly bare for Kansas City at wide receivers, which was one of the roster’s deepest positions entering training camp.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling will need to step up, but that should be expected anyway after he acclimated well to the Chiefs’ offense last year in his first season. Most receivers are better in year two than year one in Reid’s complex scheme.
Kansas City also has a pair of former second-round picks — Skyy Moore, a 2022 second-round selection poised to improve dramatically this season, and rookie Rashee Rice — that should contribute.
Understanding that the pads have yet to come on and the sample size remains small, Richie James Jr., a former 2018 San Francisco draft pick who didn’t play in the NFL in 2021 but returned with the New York Giants last season, has impressed and could be a huge factor on special teams as well.
The opportunity for Moore, Rice and James to get more reps with Mahomes at training camp isn’t a bad thing.
Veteran Justin Watson, who also has special teams value and came through in some big moments last season, provides some quality depth.
The absence of Toney and Ross’ retirement also create more chances for Justyn Ross, who spent last season on injured reserve, to earn a roster spot.
Ross was a stud at Clemson before the discovery of a neck injury that sidelined him for the 2020 season.
His talent is undeniable — 112 catches for 1,865 yards with 17 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Tigers in 2018-19 and added another 46 catches for 514 yards with three touchdowns after returning in 2021 — but the injury history meant he went undrafted.
Veach made a savvy move to bring him to Kansas City as an undrafted free agent, so he’s not your average UDFA and could be a massive asset in Reid’s offense.
Will Toney’s injury impact the 53-man roster?
Probably, though that depends on if you thought the Chiefs were keeping seven receivers anyway.
Toney’s knee surgery almost certainly ensures there will be seven receivers on the roster for the Lions game on Sept. 7 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Injured reserve isn’t an option for Toney. If he’s placed on IR before the roster cutdown, he’d have to miss the season or the Chiefs would have to reach an injury settlement, which would nullify his contract and make him a free agent.
The Physically Unable to Perform, or PUP list, isn’t a great option either since he wasn’t added before the start of camp — like defensive tackle Tershawn Wharton, who is recovering from ACL surgery.
If the Chiefs placed Toney on the reserve/PUP list, he’d be ineligible for the first four weeks of the regular season.
That means Kansas City has to plan for Toney to make the 53-man roster, even if he isn’t quite ready to play when the regular season begins.
Toney, a lock to make the roster and five other receivers — Valdes-Scantling, Moore, Rice, James and Watson — are widely viewed as locks or near locks as well.
But the uncertainty around Toney’s status heading into the season probably means the Chiefs will want to carry an extra receiver, most likely Justyn Ross, into Week 1.
There’s a decent chance that was going to be the case anyway with Kansas City no longer carrying a fullback on the roster, so Toney’s injury may not change anything in the end.
But it definitely reduces the flexibility Veach has to manipulate the 53-man roster decisions to keep as much talent as possible in the fold, including the 16-player practice squad.
What impact does this have on Toney's fantasy football value?
Let's start with the obvious: Toney's injury already made him a risky fantasy football play, so that should be part of the calculation.
The fact that he got hurt in training camp might mean dropping him a few spots in your positional rankings and targeting him a round later, but he's going to get a lot of targets when healthy.
I don't think this injury should stop people from drafting Toney, but I also don't think he should be counted on as a high-level producer for 17 weeks. History says that won't happen.
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