NFL Breaking News: Kadarius Toney Injury Update & Fantasy Football Impact
The fantasy football community was left worried on Sunday with reports that Kadarius Toney re-injured his surgically repaired knee. Toney was a fast riser in fantasy football ADP's this season with fantasy football rankings and projections setting him up to be the second receiving option behind Travis Kelce this season in the high powered Chiefs offense led by MVP Patrick Mahomes. Injuries have already plagued Toney over his brief NFL career and the offseason surgery had many already looking at other options in this Chiefs offense as possible late round fantasy football wide receiver options. We now have the latest update being reported by Adam Schefter stating that Toney is going to miss some time during training camp but should be ready to go for the start of the 2023 NFL season. Let's take a look at Toney, the Chiefs offense and the fantasy football impact.
Kadarius Toney Injury News
Following the latest NFL injury news regarding Kadarius Toney it seems as though the third-year wide receiver is going to miss a good chunk of NFL training camp as he looks to come back from this injury suffered to the same knee he had surgery on during the offseason. The offseason knee surgery was considered a “minor” arthroscopic procedure that was going to have him ready to go for the start of training camp. Toney “tweaked” his knee returning punts during Sunday's practice which forced him to leave the field. The latest update states that Toney should be ready for the start of the 2023 NFL season but missing time during camp could put him behind when it comes to his spot on the Chiefs depth chart. Missing time is not something that would be new to Kadarius Toney as he has appeared in just 19 of a possible 34 games over the course of his two-year NFL career. Last season, he appeared in just nine games, seven with the Chiefs after he was traded from the Giants. He played just 10 games as a rookie for the Giants after being drafted in the first round. Toney is not a player with a reputation for returning quickly from injuries so it will be interesting to see how soon he does in fact come back on the field.
Kadarius Toney ADP & Fantasy Football Impact
When it comes to the 2023 fantasy football season, Toney was the first wide receiver being drafted on the Chiefs and the second pass catcher behind tight end Travis Kelce. Currently, the ADP for Toney is sitting at 87.46 which means he was being taken in somewhere between the seventh and eighth round of fantasy football drafts. When it comes to fantasy football projections, Toney was set at 68 catches for 829 yards and 5.6 touchdowns. Those numbers could have swung upwards if he was able to develop a real chemistry with QB Patrick Mahomes but this knee injury is sure to set him back. With this news there is a good chance that Toney will see his ADP fall over the coming day's with other wide receivers on the Chiefs depth chart potentially on the climb.
Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Depth Chart
With the latest Kadarius Toney injury update suggesting he will miss time during training camp but will be ready for the start of the 2023 NFL regular season it's worth taking a look at the Chiefs depth chart to see who could fill the void in the Chiefs offense if Toney was to miss additional time.
Skyy Moore - The Chiefs drafted Moore in the second round last season and while he didn't make much of an immediate impact he is slated as one of the starting wide receiver this season for the Chiefs after JuJu Smith-Schuster signed with the Patriots. Moore is another burner at wide receiver, running a 4.41 40-yard time at the NFL combine last season. Currently Moore is the second wide receiver off the board in fantasy football drafts with an ADP of 127.3.
Rashee Rice - A name you will probably see boom now that Toney has suffered a set back is rookie receiver Rashee Rice. Currently coming off the board with an ADP of 16.75, Rice was a second round pick this season out of SMU. While not as fast as Moore, Rice offers some size at the receiver position, standing 6-foot-1 and 210lbs.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling - MVS finished with 42 catches for 687 yards and two touchdowns in his first season with the Chiefs last year. He has the big size and speed profile that makes him a very intruging prospect but he has never been able to really put together all of those attributes and have it translate to a break out fantasy season. He is again slated to be a starting wide receiver for the Chiefs this year and there is always the potential for he and Mahomes to connect. Right now MVS is coming off the board with an ADP of 195.38
Richie James - Darkhorse play right here, James is coming off the board with an ADP of 262.68 which means, for the most part, he is not being drafted. James signed with the Chiefs after having a good showing with the Giants where he set career highs with 57 catches for 569 yards and four touchdowns. He could very well be the player who takes the reps vacated by Toney while he rehabs his injury.
Player News
Alex Anzalone was absent from the Lions’ offseason workouts this week.
While Anzalone hasn’t explicitly said he wants a new contract, it doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots here. The Lions co-captain who turns 31 in September is a notable absence from optional offseason workouts this week after making multiple references to his value to the Lions on social media. Those references include a graph of the Lions’ defensive decline in DVOA in the seven games Anzalone missed last year as well as a note about the linebacker market increasing after Nick Bolton signed a three-year, $45 million deal with the Chiefs. Detroit hasn’t been bashful about handing out extensions in recent years and Anzalone, who’s entering the last year of a three-year, $18 million contract, believes he is next in line.
Ravens signed DT John Jenkins to a one-year contract.
The 35-year-old 13th-year pro slides in as a 1-for-1 Michael Pierce replacement after the former Raven retired in March. Although strictly a two-down player, Jenkins actually played a new career high 606 snaps for the Raiders last season. He probably won’t reach that total in Baltimore, but he should see plenty of work as a run-stopper.
49ers signed K Greg Joseph.
The 30-year-old journeyman spent time with each of the Giants, Commanders and Jets last season. He’ll serve as a veteran, in-house option should third-year pro Jake Moody look shaky this summer after an underwhelming 2024.
49ers signed Brock Purdy to a five-year, $265 million contract extension.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Purdy gets $181 million in total guarantees with $165.1 million in the first three new years. He is now under contract through 2030. The 2022 Mr. Irrelevant flashed in a handful of starts as a rookie and immediately proved to be Kyle Shanahan’s next efficiency phenom in 2023 with 4,280 yards and 31 scores. Purdy’s numbers fell in 2024, but he did enough to keep the offense on the tracks despite a rash of injuries, even if the 49ers lumbered to a 6-11 record. Purdy managed 3,864 yards and 20 scores in 15 games and showed an improved ability to work out of structure and under pressure. Though he may not have a truly elite ceiling, Purdy is beginning to beat the system quarterback allegations after just two seasons as the full-time starter. With the league’s easiest schedule on tap for 2025, expect a rebound from Purdy and the entire team this year.
Jets released K Greg Zuerlein.
Defensive end Michael Fletcher was signed in a corresponding move. Zuerlein has kicked for the Jets since 2022. He suffered a knee injury last year and briefly returned before being placed back on injured reserve. Zuerlein appeared in eight games and went a dreadful 9-of-15 on his field goal tries. The 60 percent hit rate was by far the worst of his career. Now 37 years old, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Legatron hang up the cleats for good after being released. If he wants to keep kicking, another team will be more than willing to at least give him a camp battle to win.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said his guess is that the NFL will ban the tush push during next week’s owners’ meeting.
Schefter didn’t cite any sources directly but reiterated the point later in the latest episode of The Adam Schefter Podcast, saying he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the owners voted to outlaw the play. Losing the free touchdown play would undoubtedly hurt Philly’s offense and Jalen Hurts’ fantasy outlook, but it’s hard to imagine a team with Hurts, an elite offensive line, and Saquon Barkley not finding other ways to get in the end zone from a yard out. If the tush push is banned, it would likely just shuffle some of Hurts’ touchdowns to Barkley. Other teams including the Bills have experimented with similar plays, but no one has found as much success as the Eagles. The owners will also be voting on a change to the playoff seeding rules. The proposed change would seed teams based purely on their record instead of each division winner earning a top-four seed. While that may be a more logical way to do things, it’s certainly less fun.