Kadarius Toney has no doubt that he’ll be back to make dynamic plays for the Giants.
“When I step back out there, I feel like I’m gonna be who I originally was,” Toney said Thursday.
The problem is Toney hasn’t stepped out there much due to injuries to both of his hamstrings. He is slated to miss his fifth straight game on Sunday in Jacksonville. He’s jogging on the side of Brian Daboll’s practices, cautiously rehabbing.
“I mean when you go hard, stuff happens,” Toney said, explaining his frequent injuries.
The potential of a Toney return keeps Giants fans on the edge of their seats, however infrequently he’s been able to suit up.
Fans can’t get Toney’s 10-catch, 189-yard Dallas performance from 2021 out of their heads.
One Giants fan in Manhattan on Tuesday, hovering around the NFL owners’ meetings, had one question for a Giants beat writer: ‘What’s with Toney? Is he coming back?’
Hypothetically, if Toney ever put it all together, the thinking is that he could supercharge Daboll’s offense and take the 5-1 Giants to new heights.
Unfortunately, the reality is Toney hasn’t been available since the Giants drafted him No. 20 overall in 2021.
He’s missed 11 of a possible 23 games in his first two NFL seasons so far due to numerous injuries. So it’s impossible to count on him.
Toney disagrees, of course. He said he doesn’t doubt himself a bit despite so many setbacks.
“Why would I doubt myself?” he said. “I mean, I know what I can do and what I can’t do. Everybody let one downfall or one mishap or one thing go[ing] wrong determine the outcome of how they feel or whatever. I really don’t care for that. I’m here to do one job, I’m here to play, be the best that I can be. I’m not here for all that. Come on.”
Toney, 23, is in a tough spot because he’s still trying to prove himself to this new Giants regime while also working to get healthy.
The Giants made calls looking to trade Toney in the spring after Joe Schoen and Daboll inherited the roster. The market didn’t develop. Toney missed all three preseason games with a hamstring injury.
Then Daboll only played Toney seven snaps in the Giants’ Week 1 win in Tennessee. He logged 28 snaps against Carolina in Week 2. And he hasn’t played since.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. Returning to play could function as an audition for Toney, as well as a short-term boost for the Giants at the very least.
Asked if he receives feedback from the coaches and front office, Toney said: “I’m coming in, doing my job every day. I mean, I don’t hear nothing bad, so I guess I gotta be doing good.”
“Whatever happens, I’m getting ready like it’s a game,” he said of his weekly mindset. “I get feedback every now and again or whatever, I guess you could say. But I mean, I’m locked in. So I really don’t even care for too much words or nothing.”
Toney knows this situation gets fixed with action. He only has two catches for zero yards and two rushes for 23 yards so far in his second pro season.
Reinjuring the same hamstring cost Toney the Cowboys and Bears games in Weeks 3 and 4. Then Daboll said Toney tweaked the other, healthy hamstring on the indoor turf practice field leading up to the Week 5 Packers game in London.
Toney didn’t even make the trip with the team across the Atlantic Ocean. And he’s still on ice.
Asked how he hurt his other hamstring, Toney said: “I dunno. Running.”
The wide receiver admitted he “probably” tried to come back too quickly from his first injury. He said that’s part of the reason they’re “clearly” being conservative with this rehab.
“If you ask anybody, the best doctor or whatever, hamstrings are very tricky,” Toney said. “So if you feel like your hamstring is better, it might not be. You never know. It’s all about how you feel, I guess you could say.”
Toney said he’s been getting “better.” He said he’s sprinting and cutting already on the field.
“Oh yeah, I’m cool,” he said. “I’m good, yeah.”
He had a couple of entertaining, snappy one-liners about his health status during a cordial yet combative interview session.
On his timetable for a return: “I’m not an information giver.”
On the percentage his hamstring is healthy: “I don’t know no percentages. I didn’t know your body had percentages like that.”
Asked about how often he reacts on social media to critics, Toney quipped: “What you mean? I could post what I want, man. What you talking about? [laughs] Y’all wild.”
And regardless of how many people have counted him out, Toney said it doesn’t matter.
“I really don’t care,” he said. “I been going against odds all my life. Why would it be different now?”
