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Daniel Oyefusi, ESPN
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns are signing former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney to their practice squad, league sources told ESPN.
Kansas City waived Toney, 25, in late August after two seasons with the team.
Toney entered the NFL in 2021 as a first-round pick of the New York Giants. He was traded to the Chiefs in the middle of the 2022 season for third- and sixth-round draft picks. Toney’s 65-yard punt return in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII helped deliver the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, but he was inactive for all four playoff games last season as Kansas City won back-to-back championships.
The Chiefs hoped he could become their No. 1 wide receiver in 2023, but that never developed. He missed all of training camp after having surgery for a torn meniscus. He returned in time for the start of the regular season but wound up catching only 27 passes. Twice he deflected what appeared to be easily catchable balls to defenders for interceptions.
Toney also appeared to score the winning touchdown after taking a lateral from Travis Kelce late in a Week 14 game against the Buffalo Bills, but the play was wiped out when Toney was penalized for being offside and the Chiefs wound up losing the game.
In Cleveland, Toney joins a wide receiver room that includes Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore as its top options. But Cleveland could be without Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku, who is “week-to-week” after sustaining an ankle injury in the team’s season-opening 33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
In 32 games, Toney has 82 receptions for 760 yards and three touchdowns.
ESPN’s Adam Teicher contributed to this report.