Shortly before practice on Thursday, the New York Giants traded wide receiver Kadarius Toney to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for two draft picks. Head coach Brian Daboll said it was “best for the team.”
That’s a message both he and general manager Joe Schoen wanted to convey, so they made it a point to address the trade with players.
“I don’t know if it sends a message,” safety Julian Love told the New York Daily News. “They are trying to build for the future. They’re trying to build the team. At the end of the day, no matter how we feel about [Toney], they have a plan for this team and we’ve just got to trust it.”
And the players do seem to trust the new regime’s vision.
“I think most of the guys trust in what they’ve done so far,” left tackle Andrew Thomas said. “We’re winning games. Now we’re focused on Seattle.”
Love acknowledged it was a “smart play” for Schoen and Daboll to address the team post-trade as opposed to just going about business as normal. After all, Toney is a former first-round pick and has explosive talent.
“I think [with] the timing of it all, they had to address us so we could have a normal, good practice,” Love added. “We all found out and it broke right before practice while we were getting ready. So it was a situation where I think they kind of wanted to get ahead of it.”
Although he was admittedly surprised by the move, running back Saquon Barkley didn’t seem overly heartbroken.
“I never want to take anything away from KT like I said he’s a talented player, but for us right now it’s just continue to have the same 1-0 mindset, fall in love with the process and go to Seattle and try to come out with a win,” Barkley said.
And forward the Giants will go… without Kadarius Toney.
