Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney is very talented, but he has been making far too many mistakes, and former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski is getting tired of seeing him do so.
While speaking about Toney on the Up & Adams Show, Gronkowski acknowledged Toney’s raw ability, but said that his mental errors indicate he isn’t working hard enough.
“Kadarius Toney is an athletic freak,” Gronkowski said. “He can run routes like no other. He can return punts. But, when you’re making costly mistakes like that, in and out, I mean from the beginning of the season to the middle of the season, throughout your whole career, it’s kind of like you don’t love the game of football.”
Toney has made crucial mistakes the last couple of weeks. First, he committed an offensive offsides penalty that wiped out what would have been a go-ahead touchdown with under two minutes remaining in a loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 14. Then, last week, a perfectly placed pass from Patrick Mahomes bounced off the hands of Toney and into the waiting arms of a New England Patriots linebacker for a first-half interception.
Those aren’t the only miscues Toney has committed this season, either.
“Those mistakes that he’s making should have been corrected after the first time,” Gronkowski added. “If you love the game of football, you go back to the locker room, you take accountability of it all, you go hit the practice field and you make sure you look that ball in, catch it, and tuck it, and secure that ball well. That’s what you do if you love football and you don’t make that mistake again. But when you keep making mistakes like that, you must not be that much into the game, and you must not love the game.”
Toney has played in 13 games this season, logging 27 catches for 169 yards and a touchdown.
The 24-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Florida, was originally selected by the New York Giants with the 20th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
He appeared in 10 contests during his rookie campaign and flashed considerable potential, catching 39 passes for 420 yards. However, the Giants traded him to the Chiefs midway through last year.
In nine games between New York and Kansas City in 2022, Kadarius Toney totaled 16 grabs for 171 yards and a pair of scores.
The Chiefs are 9-5 and will take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day.
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