Kadarius Toney played a key role in the Chiefs' Super Bowl 57 win over the Eagles. The question as Kansas City looks to repeat as NFL champions is whether he will suit up at all against the 49ers.
Toney hasn't played for the Chiefs since the team's 27-17 win over the Patriots in Week 15. In that contest, the third-year wideout played just 40 percent of Kansas City's offensive snaps and caught just two passes from Patrick Mahomes for five yards.
Since then, he has been sidelined; and Toney indicated that it might not necessarily be due to an injury.
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Here's what to know about what's going on with Toney and his status for the Chiefs' Super Bowl 58 tilt with the 49ers.
What happened to Kadarius Toney?
Toney has missed the Chiefs' last six games while nursing a hip injury he suffered in Week 15 against the Patriots. The 25-year-old has also been on the injury report during that timeframe with an ankle problem and was excused from the AFC championship game due to personal reasons, as he welcomed his first child over the weekend.
However, Toney called out the Chiefs over the weekend in an expletive-laden tirade about his injury status. He claimed that Kansas City was merely pretending that he was injured to keep him out of games.
"That s— cap," he said. "I'm not hurt."
Toney noted his frustration with being unable to play within the rant and indicated that he found it strange that his injury was consistently moving.
"It go from hip to ankle to this to that," he complained.
Naturally, that brought up questions about Toney's status moving forward, especially after he logged his first full practice since suffering his original hip injury ahead of the AFC championship game.
It fell to Andy Reid to address them after the Chiefs advanced to the Super Bowl.
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Kadarius Toney injury update
Reid unsurprisingly came to the Chiefs' defense during a media availability Monday. The veteran coach made it clear that Toney's status was related to the injuries with which he had been listed over the previous six weeks.
"He's been on the injury report, [so] that part is not made up by any means,'' Reid told reporters, per ESPN.
Beyond that, Reid explained that Toney had "been working through some things" but declined to further elaborate on what those were. He also revealed that he hadn't seen the Instagram Live video that was attributed to Toney.
Despite the disconnect between the player and the franchise, it appeared Reid will give his wide receiver a chance to return to the practice field.
"He'll be back out there and we'll see how he does," Reid said.
If all goes well, it sounds like Toney will be allowed to play in Super Bowl 58 against the 49ers.
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Will Kadarius Toney play in Super Bowl 58 vs. 49ers?
The Chiefs haven't determined Toney's status and won't have to for the better part of two weeks. They can take their time and evaluate his physical fitness while also assessing whether he has worked through what the team had hoped during his six-game absence.
If Toney can play, the Chiefs would likely have to decide whether to dress him or Justyn Ross for the contest. Ross has played just three offensive snaps during the postseason and has six catches for 53 this season.
Comparatively, Toney has 27 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown while averaging 17.7 snaps per game on offense.
Toney has also returned six punts for 58 yards this season, so his ability to play a role in multiple facets of the game would likely earn him the nod over Ross. It's just a matter of whether Toney will be able — or willing — to suit up.
