Chiefs to waive former first-round WR

As colleague Tom Pelissero notes, Kansas City had been trying to find a trade partner for Toney. With no agreement coming on that front, the defending champions will move on. After an underwhelming 2023 campaign, the 25-year-old was known to be on the Chiefs’ roster bubble. He will now hit the waiver wire. In addition to cutting Toney, the Chiefs are moving on from former UDFA Justyn Ross, veteran reporter Jordan Schultz adds.

Toney entered the league with high expectations based on his draft status and his highlight-reel ability shown in college. His tenure in New York was only 12 games, however, with a trade midway through the 2022 campaign sending him to Kansas City in return for third- and sixth-round picks. The Florida product had a strong showing in Super Bowl LVII, suggesting he would have a regular role during his first full campaign with the team.

Both Toney and Ross came with baggage, and the Chiefs augmented their receiver situation significantly since acquiring each. A former freshman standout at Clemson, Ross saw a neck injury alter his career. While he recovered, the ex-Trevor Lawrence target went undrafted. Ross also landed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List last season in connection with a domestic battery arrest.

Toney held a bigger role in Kansas City, but his issues staying healthy in New York carried over. Toney missed time due to multiple injuries, but the Chiefs offense fared better with the shifty Florida alum out of the mix late last season. Toney took issue with his Chiefs status last year, criticizing the team for keeping him sidelined during the playoffs. This blast came hours before the AFC Championship Game, and the Chiefs subsequently made Toney a healthy scratch for Super Bowl LVIII.

The Chiefs harbored hopes of turning Toney into their No. 1 receiver last year. He fell well short of expectations and played the lead role, along with Skyy Moore and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, in a clunky season for Kansas City’s receiving corps — most memorably via the infamous offensive offside infraction that negated Toney’s go-ahead TD against the Bills. 

The two-time defending champs signed Marquise Brown, drafted Xavier Worthy in Round 1 and just reunited with JuJu Smith-Schuster. The team also re-signed Mecole Hardman this offseason, crowding a receiving corps that suddenly has Moore in a fringe position.