The Cleveland Browns have added a new weapon to their arsenal, signing former first-round pick Kadarius Toney.
The Chiefs released Toney — the No. 20 overall pick in 2021 — because they could not find a trade partner while cutting the roster down to 53 players. Last season, he caught 27 passes for 169 yards with one touchdown in 13 regular-season games.
Toney’s most impactful performance in a Chiefs jersey came in the Super Bowl. He caught one pass for a touchdown and had a long punt return to help the Chiefs win the title.
Toney will initially join the practice squad, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
“Former Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney is signing with the Browns, giving Cleveland another playmaker,” Rapaport said. “He also visited the Seahawks, and had others lined up. But for long- and short-term, Toney lands in Cleveland.”
Toney previously spent 12 games with 5 starts with the New York Giants. He didn’t live up to his draft selection, catching just 41 passes for 420 yards.
Toney comes with some concerns. After his release, Chiefs general manager Brett Veach appeared to question his work ethic.
“Sometimes you can make some bad luck turn into good luck by just doing some little things in the offseason [to] take care of your body,” Veach said, per ESPN’s Adam Teicher. “I think that’s a process he’s working through. It’s certainly not for a lack of talent.”
Browns Passing Game Struggled in Week 1
Any extra weapons will be welcomed in Cleveland after their miserable Week 1 outing against the Dallas Cowboys. The Browns lost 33-17 and the offense struggled from starter to finish.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson faced constant pressure, finishing with 169 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He was sacked six times and head coach Kevin Stefanski lamented how often Watson was hit.
“He got hit way too often. We can’t let that happen to him. He fought like crazy, and listen, the football team fought like crazy to the end,” Stefanski said. “But bottom line is, we have to protect our quarterback better than that.”
Just nine of Watson’s 24 completions went to wide receivers. His top pass-catcher, Amari Cooper, finished with just two grabs for 16 yards.
“Deshaun is Deshaun,” Cooper said after the game. “He’s a playmaker at the end of the day. Obviously, the game didn’t go how we wanted it to go. We just have to execute better. We went out there and played a good Cowboys team that has been good for a few years now. It takes a collective effort. I’d say as a whole group, we didn’t execute how we wanted to.”
Browns Recently Released David Bell
Toney will likely take David Bell’s old spot on the Browns wide receiver depth chart and can be called up to the active roster once he acclimates to Cleveland. Bell was cut shortly before Week 1. He cleared waivers and was added back to the practice squad.
The Browns selected Bell in the third round of the 2022 draft. He didn’t make an immediate impact, catching just 38 passes for 381 yards in his first two seasons.
Toney should be a weapon the Browns can fit into their system and find uses for. But it starts with Watson, who knows he has to be better.
“At the end of the day, once you’re on the field, you just gotta perform, you gotta execute,” Watson said after the Week 1 loss. “And, you know, we didn’t do that overall.”
The Browns will try to bounce back this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
