ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney had surgery Tuesday morning to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his knee, and his absence will have short-term and long-range implications for the club.
Recovery times for similar injuries usually range from four to six weeks. The Chiefs host the Detroit Lions in 44 days, just more than six weeks, and head coach Andy Reid didn’t rule out the possible Toney returns in time for the season opener.
“There is a chance for the first game, but we’ll see,” Reid said after Tuesday’s practice. “We’ll just have to see how other recovery goes with him. But he’s bound and determined he’s gonna be there for the first game. We’ll see how it goes.”
Replacing Toney
Toney expected to enter training camp as a starter alongside Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore. Toney’s absence through the first three practice sessions has meant an expanded role for Justin Watson, who will almost certainly be one of the club’s receivers on the initial 53-player roster.
His absence also has created more opportunities for rookie Rashee Rice. The second-round draft choice certainly expected to earn more opportunities as camp progressed but he’s now a regular part of the rotation with the first-team offense.
Toney possesses a blend of speed and athleticism that may be unmatched in the club’s receiver room. Patrick Mahomes says he’s not expecting any other receiver to replicate Toney’s role in the offense.
“I think a lot of guys will fill that role throughout training camp,” Mahomes said. “I want guys to just be themselves.”
This time of year is about installing the offense, so the most immediate impact will be less focus on packages designed specifically to take advantage of Toney’s dynamic play-making ability. That will leave plenty of pages of the playbook to still focus on while Toney is out, Mahomes said.
I think you’ve seen in this offense, it can be run in a lot of different ways so obviously when Kadarius is in there, we run it one way because of his talent and what he can do,” Mahomes explained. “When he’s not in there, we can run a different way to really accelerate the other guys’ talents.”
Building the Roster
Regardless of whether Toney can play in Week 1 against Detroit, his absence shouldn’t dramatically impact the club’s roster construction. The Chiefs have limited options regarding Toney, which means he should remain on the 90-player roster for now and will be included on the initial 53-player squad opening the season.
The Chief will most likely keep six receivers on the opening roster, barring further injuries. Toney, Valdes-Scantling, Moore, Rice and Watson are virtual locks for the roster. The sixth spot will likely come down to a choice between Richie James and Justyn Ross.
General manager Brett Veach could choose to keep a seventh receiver, and Toney’s injury could influence that decision.
The more significant impact on the roster could come down to whether Toney’s injury affects the club’s choice for punt returner. Moore is an option but James is also a strong candidate. Securing the punt return job would certainly solidify Richie’s roster bid.
Reid says it’s too early to make a decision about Toney as the primary punt return specialist.
“Let’s see how he does,” Reid said. “Let’s see how the rehab part goes and if you have to have a surgery, I think we caught it at a good time. It looked like it was good when they were in there, all of that. As long as the recovery goes well, I’m pulling for him there in a positive way.”
