By admin The Kansas City Chiefs decide not to sign the former prep star from Alabama for 2025.
The Kansas City Chiefs did nothing on Thursday to exercise their option to add a season to wide receiver Kadarius Toney’s rookie contract.
A four-year contract with a fifth-season team option is signed by each first-round draft selection. However, that option must to be used prior to the player’s fourth season. The cutoff point for 2021 first-rounders was this Thursday at 3 p.m. CDT.
The former quarterback for Blount High School was chosen by the New York Giants with the 20th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft; however, the Chiefs exercised their option after acquiring the wide receiver in a trade on October 27, 2022.
Kansas City had the opportunity to extend Toney’s contract until the 2025 season, guaranteeing him a hefty $14.345 million payment, which is calculated as the average of the third to 25th highest quarterback salaries over the past five seasons. This amount exceeds the total value of Toney’s rookie contract, which amounted to $13.72 million over four years, signed in 2021.
Fifth-year options for NFL players fall into four categories:
1. Players selected for at least two Pro Bowls in their first three seasons.
2. Players selected for one Pro Bowl in their first three seasons.
3. Players who haven’t made the Pro Bowl but have participated in at least 75% of offensive or defensive snaps in two seasons or 50% of overall snaps across three seasons.
4. Players who haven’t met Pro Bowl or playing-time criteria.
Toney didn’t meet the requirements for Pro Bowl selections or playing time thresholds.
During the last season, Toney participated in 13 games, accumulating 27 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown, along with 11 rushing attempts for 31 yards and six punt returns averaging 9.7 yards.
In the final six games of the season, Toney was listed on Kansas City’s injury report for 12 consecutive weeks but didn’t play after December 17 as the Chiefs won their second consecutive Super Bowl.
Initially drafted by the New York Giants from Florida as the 20th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Toney played in 12 out of the Giants’ next 24 games. He recorded 41 receptions for 420 yards, five rushing attempts for 29 yards, and one punt return for zero yards. However, he hadn’t scored a touchdown in the NFL when New York traded him to Kansas City for picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In his 20 regular-season games with the Chiefs, Toney matched his reception count from his time with the Giants, totaling 41 catches for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Additionally, he rushed for 90 yards and one touchdown on 16 attempts and returned 16 punts for an average of 7.4 yards.
During the playoffs with the Chiefs, Toney contributed seven receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown, a 14-yard run, and six punt returns for an average of 18.7 yards per return.
Toney played a significant role in Kansas City’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on February 12, 2023. He made the longest punt return in Super Bowl history, a 65-yarder to the Philadelphia 5-yard line, setting up a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Just minutes earlier, he caught a touchdown pass. Additionally, Toney’s 5-yard touchdown reception made him the third player from an Alabama high school to score in the Super Bowl.