Kadarius Toney won’t play in Monday’s AFC Championship game, but he turned himself into a story nonetheless.
Toney, who was ruled out with both a hip injury and personal reasons following the birth of his daughter, went on an expletive-laden rant over Instagram Live on Sunday, in which he accused the Chiefs of lying about his hip injury.
“Y’all reading all this cap-ass s–t? You didn’t believe it, I don’t give a f–k,” Toney said. “Ain’t never been a n—a to do all that but man, that s–t cap.
“I’m not hurt. None of that s–t. Save that s–t. S–k my d–k too. I’m not hurt. None of that. It goes from hip to ankle to this to that.”
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Toney, who last played in Week 15, bobbled a pass leading to an interception during the fourth quarter of the Chiefs’ eventual 27-17 win over the Patriots.
That put an exclamation mark on a disastrous year for the former Giants first-round pick, who bore the blame in a Week 1 loss to the Lions, in which he dropped a pair of throws from quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Toney’s offsides penalty in Week 14 also negated a go-ahead touchdown in a 20-17 loss to the Bills.
The Giants traded Toney, 25, to Kansas City in October 2022 for a package including a third and sixth-round pick.
He finished the 2023 regular season with just 27 catches, 169 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Injured or not, it is hard to believe the Chiefs are thrilled with Toney for creating a distraction ahead of their biggest game of the season.
Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson expects a “heavyweight fight” when he leads the Ravens against rival quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the defending champion Kansas City.
Two-time Super Bowl champion Mahomes, 28, was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2018 and 2022 while Jackson, 27, took the award in 2019. They’re the first under-30 MVP quarterbacks to meet in the NFL playoffs.
“Just two greats, up-and-coming greats just going toe-to-toe, like a heavyweight fight,” Jackson said.
“Heavyweight matchup, that’s what I see.”
The AFC Championship game showdown will determine which team advances to next month’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas against either the Detroit Lions or San Francisco 49ers.
“We have to finish,” Jackson said.
“We’re not in the dance yet. I’m not even thinking about the Super Bowl until we handle business.”
The Chiefs will play in the AFC Championship for a sixth consecutive season seeking a fourth Super Bowl trip and third Super Bowl title in that run.
Run-pass threat Jackson completed a career-high 67.2 per cent of his passes this season for a career-best 3,678 yards, sparking the Ravens to the NFL’s best record at 13-4 and likely capturing this season’s MVP award.
“He’s going to be the MVP for a reason,” Mahomes said.
“He goes out there, he leads his team, he scores, he runs, he throws, he does whatever it takes to win. That’s what the great greats do.
“It’ll be a great challenge for our defence, but also a great challenge for offence going against their defence. It’s going to take a full team effort if we want to find a way to get a win.”
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