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Former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney has finally signed with a new NFL franchise.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was the first to report the news, relaying: “Sources: Former Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney is signing with the [Cleveland] Browns, giving Cleveland another playmaker.”
Rapoport added that Toney “also visited the [Seattle] Seahawks, and had others lined up. But for long- and short-term, Toney lands in Cleveland.”
Continuing in a follow-up post: “Kadarius Toney will start on the practice squad to work his way back and ease in. With his salary guaranteed this year, anyway, this wasn’t a financial decision.”
Unfortunately, that part is bad news for the Chiefs.
Browns’ Kadarius Toney Signing Doesn’t Benefit Chiefs Financially, Says Reporter
After the news, A-to-Z Sports Kansas City reporter Charles Goldman explained why a practice squad signing doesn’t benefit the Chiefs.
“The Chiefs had a slim chance of recouping some money after releasing WR Kadarius Toney during 53-man roster cuts,” Goldman wrote. “Releasing Toney meant that Kansas City would have a $2.53M dead money charge. That’s because Toney was still on his rookie deal as a former first-round draft pick [of the New York Giants in 2022].”
“Had a team signed Toney to their 53-man roster ahead of the conclusion of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season, the Chiefs would have recouped over $1M in salary cap space,” the KC reporter went on. “It’d bring their total cap space over $7 million.
“Why would that happen? It’s because the base salary of every player on the 53-man roster becomes guaranteed if they’re on the roster for Week 1. The portion of base salary that became dead money for Kansas City would cancel out with a new guaranteed base salary.”
Toney is starting out on the Browns practice squad, however, which erases any chance of the Chiefs recouping some of their losses.
During his time in KC, Toney was a part of two Super Bowl teams and contributed most as a wide receiver/returner in the first title game over Philadelphia. He caught 41-of-55 regular season targets for 340 and 3 touchdowns with the Chiefs, along with another 7 catches for 50 yards and a touchdown in the playoffs.
Browns an Ideal Landing Spot for Kadarius Toney
For the Chiefs organization, the Browns profile as a pretty ideal landing spot for Toney. It always seemed like the once-promising pass-catcher had offers from contending teams, so with that being said, it’s probably better off he signs with an NFC or AFC franchise that isn’t really a Kansas City rival.
A team like the Buffalo Bills or the Cincinnati Bengals, for example. Or even worse, a division rival like the Las Vegas Raiders or the Los Angeles Chargers.
In those scenarios, Toney’s release could have theoretically come back to bite the Chiefs at a later date. But in this one, Cleveland is still a work in progress despite being a playoff team in 2023.
After all, quarterback Deshaun Watson has failed to live up to his contract so far with the Browns, and his play has continuously trended downward since his arrival. Beyond that, things have yet to truly come together for a Cleveland franchise with a strong defense led by Myles Garrett.
The Browns have only made the playoffs twice since 2002, last year and in 2020. Chiefs Kingdom probably remembers the latter postseason run well — it ended at the hands of Kansas City, 22-17, as backup quarterback Chad Henne helped an injured Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs hold onto a narrow victory over Baker Mayfield and Cleveland.
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