Chiefs WR Toney leaves practice with knee injury

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Training camp for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney got off to an ominous start Sunday when he left the field prior to the start of the first practice because of a knee injury.

Coach Andy Reid after practice said Toney injured the knee while returning a punt before some of his teammates had even arrived on the field. Reid described the injury as a “tweak,” normally his term for a minor ailment.

But Toney left the practice field, something usually reserved for more serious injuries, and the Chiefs continued without him.

The Chiefs have rebuilt their wide receiving group in the past couple of seasons after trading Tyreek Hill and losing JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency. Toney has been a centerpiece of that effort. The Chiefs last year traded a couple of draft picks for Toney, a first-round pick by the New York Giants in 2021.

Toney was spectacular at times for the Chiefs after the trade, never more than in the fourth quarter of their Super Bowl LVII win over the Philadelphia Eagles, He caught the touchdown pass that put the Chiefs in the lead early in the period and later set up another TD with a 65-yard punt return.

But because of injuries, Toney has yet to play a full NFL season. He missed six games as a rookie with the Giants and was limited to nine games last season.

The Chiefs in the past couple of seasons have added other wide receivers, including veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling in free agency last year. They drafted a receiver in the second round in each of the past two seasons, Skyy Moore in 2022 and Rashee Rice this year.