Giants should be celebrated for getting big trade haul for unmotivated Kadarius Toney

Giants traded a player who wasn’t part of their long-term plans for assets that will help them in the long-term

10/27/2022, 6:40 PM
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You’re going to have those outside New York rip the Giants for this one. Just wait. It’s inevitable. 

They’ll talk about how great Kadarius Toney is going to be in the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense. They’ll chastise Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll for giving up on a first-round pick so soon. They’ll urge all to rush to the fantasy football waiver wire to put a claim on the talented wideout because of his perceived limitless ceiling.

Excuse the neck-spraining eye roll. What a load of hogwash that is.

Fact: New York managed to get a third- and sixth-round pick for an unmotivated, uninterested, unhealthy, underperforming wideout drafted by another regime.

That should be celebrated with a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.

The Toney/Giants marriage was a drunken Vegas eloping from the very beginning — it was never going to work. The Giants wanted Alabama’s DeVonta Smith in the 2021 draft. Then-GM Dave Gettleman didn’t exactly hide that, which is why the Philadelphia Eagles traded one spot in front of New York to snatch him at No. 10 before the Giants could take him at No. 11. The Giants, defeated, traded down.

They then took Toney at No. 20.

We’ll make this very clear: Toney is among the more physically-gifted players when he’s on the field. He’s electric fast and ridiculously athletic. You can count on one hand the number of people on this planet capable of stopping on a dime as fast as him — and you don’t need all your fingers. But despite his other-worldly talent, he was available at No. 20 for a reason. Executives around the league had serious concerns about his work ethic, durability and interest in the NFL. Basically, those gifts came packaged with more than a few red flags.

Gettleman took him anyway. It wasn’t long before it became one thing after another for the Florida product.

And that’s where the trouble began.

Toney showed up to rookie minicamp without knowing what size shoe he wore. Because of this, he practiced without shoes because the right size wasn’t there. He then skipped the Giants' offseason conditioning program. He showed up for training camp, but then he missed a chunk of it with COVID. Just as he returned to team drills … he hurt his hamstring. Things over the ensuing 1.5 years then got really, really interesting.

Cameras caught Toney pouting on the sideline of a Sept. 16 game against Washington. He called the media "sum clowns" for pointing it out. He got kicked out of a game against the Dallas Cowboys for punching defensive back Damontae Kazee. Toney again tested positive for COVID-19 late last season. He missed a chunk of training camp this year with a hamstring injury. He returned only to re-injure his hamstring in practice before the Giants’ Week 3 game against the Cowboys. He worked his way back, then injured his other hamstring before the Giants' Week 5 game against the Green Bay Packers in London. 

In total, throughout his career, Toney has missed 12 of 24 games with seven different injuries. He’s appeared on the Giants' injury report for 19 of a possible 24 weeks.

Toney finished his Giants career with 41 career catches for 420 yards and zero touchdowns. He has two catches for zero yards this season.

If Gettleman was still here, the Giants likely stick with Toney a little longer. No GM wants to admit he failed so miserably with a first-round pick. But Schoen has no ties to Toney. Neither does Daboll. When it became clear a divorce was best for both sides, the Giants started shopping.

And despite the whole world knowing the Giants didn’t want him anymore — Schoen still got a third- and sixth-round pick for him.

Well done.

Nov 22, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney (89) runs with the ball in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney (89) runs with the ball in the second half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports / © Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

There’s no denying that the Giants could have used a healthy Toney this year. Their receiver situation is less than ideal. It’s quarterback Daniel Jones, running back Saquon Barkley, and then the Land of Misfit Toys out there each weekend. Marcus Johnson and Darius Slayton started New York’s victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars at wideout. Kenny Golladay is still hurt. Wan’Dale Robinson is talented, but he’s pretty much all the Giants have at the moment.

Toney, and his problems, would have given the Giants a boost. That’s why they exhausted all means to try to make it work during the offseason and early portions of this season. They could never motivate Toney, who often seemed more interested in his off-field endeavors. So the Giants gave up and dealt him. The fact they were able to get what they could for him? Again: Schedule the ticker-tape parade.

The concern now is, obviously, where the Giants go from here. They’re off to an impressive 6-1 start and look destined for their first playoff appearance since 2016. They desperately need to improve the receiver position, though. With Toney gone, the only reinforcement set to return is Golladay — who’s dealt with his own issues, even when healthy.

Could the Giants look to strike a trade of their own? Adding someone to replace Toney? It’s possible. Carolina’s D.J. Moore and Denver’s Jerry Jeudy are both believed to be on the trade block. That doesn’t seem overly likely, though, unless the Giants can get one for pennies on the dollar. The Giants have exceeded expectations this year, but they are still a roster with holes. They need their draft picks to fortify this team for the long-term — draft picks they’d need to trade for Moore or Jeudy.

It seems more likely, barring a change, that the Giants go with what they have — Johnson, Slayton, David Sills and Robinson, then hope Golladay makes a difference when he returns (unless they can find a team crazy enough to take him off their hands, too).

Even so, the Giants made the smart move trading Toney.

They got rid of a player who wasn’t part of their long-term plans for assets that will help them in the long-term.

That’s a win.

No matter what anyone else says.

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