Reid: Toney's injury 'not made up' after WR's rant
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Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Coach Andy Reid said the Kansas City Chiefs did not file erroneous injury reports regarding Kadarius Toney as the wide receiver claimed in a profanity-filled Instagram Live post attributed to him.
“He’s been on the injury report, [so] that part is not made up by any means,” Reid said.
On his post, Toney said he doesn’t have the hip and ankle injuries the Chiefs have recently listed for Toney on their weekly injury reports.
“I’m not hurt,” Toney said. “None of that.”
Toney hasn’t played since a Week 15 game against the New England Patriots in which he deflected a pass to a defender for an interception for the second time this season. The Chiefs said before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game that Toney wouldn’t play because of injuries and personal reasons. Toney’s partner gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter, on Saturday.
Reid said he hadn’t seen Toney’s post but had been told about it. On Monday, Reid said Toney was “working through some things” and that he would be with the Chiefs when they begin practice on Thursday for Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers.
Teams and coaches can be fined by the NFL for issuing inaccurate or misleading injury reports. In December, then-Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith was fined $25,000 and the team $75,000 for failing to disclose that running back Bijan Robinson was dealing with an illness that had limited him in a game against Tampa Bay earlier in the season.
The Chiefs were counting on Toney to carry a big workload this season, but he has just 27 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown. He played a big role in last season’s Super Bowl win over the Philadelphia Eagles by catching one touchdown and returning a punt 65 yards to set up another, both in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs held team meetings Monday, and players will be off Tuesday and Wednesday before beginning Super Bowl practice Thursday. Reid said he hoped the game plan would be installed by the time the Chiefs leave for Las Vegas on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
