Kadarius Toney not disappointed in lack of snaps vs. Titans
Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney runs upfield during the second half against the Titans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday in Nashville. Credit: Getty Images/Wesley Hitt
Kadarius Toney had a great view of Sunday’s win over the Titans and came away impressed by the performances of teammates such as Saquon Barkley and Sterling Shepard.
“I just feel like everybody got their juice back,” he said. “People returning from injuries and this and that. We are back on track how we are supposed to be.”
The only one missing from that comeback vibe? Toney himself.
The wide receiver played just seven offensive snaps and had two touches. Coach Brian Daboll said earlier in the week there were more plays designed for Toney that were not called, but Toney clearly did not have a complete role in the game plan.
Nor did he seem to have a problem with that.
“Disappointed in a victory? Disappointed in winning? You sound crazy,” he said when he was asked if had any hard feelings about his limited playing time. “I get paid to play, not coach. I don’t know what the plan was. At the end of the day, I just prepared as if I was going in and playing every play. I don’t know what else to say.”
Toney said he suspects his dearth of snaps was because of the time he missed nursing a leg injury late in the preseason.
“Everybody knows I had the injury a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “I guess that’s just it with that, I don’t know.”
He also said he would accept Daboll’s challenge to practice more and better to earn the kind of snaps a second-year first-round pick should be getting.
“If that’s what’s required, that’s what I’ve got to do,” he said.
Toney spent most of the game on the sideline watching, sometimes on a knee with his helmet off.
The one thing Daboll said he did like about Toney’s part in Sunday’s wain was what he did after the Titans missed the potential game-winning field goal to give the Giants the victory.
“Kadarius is six feet up in the air, jumping,” Daboll said. “And he only played seven snaps. So, that’s what we’re trying to build.”
Still, some Giants felt the need to check in with Toney.
“I talked to him but it wasn’t about trying to pump him up, it was about continuing to work,” running back and captain Barkley said. “I told him to keep continuing the process. He is a very talented individual. I think you can see that when he has the rock in his hand. I think we’ll see him involved a little bit more in the offense and making more plays for us.”
Toney may be asked to do that Sunday against the Panthers, especially if fellow wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson is unable to play because of his knee injury.
“I don’t really know what’s ahead for me Sunday,” Toney said. “I’ve just got to go out there and be the best player I can be.”
No matter how much or little he plays.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
