Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney had surgery to clean up cartilage in his knee and “there’s a chance” he could be back for the start of the regular season, coach Andy Reid said Tuesday.
“We’ll just see. He’s determined that he’s going to be there,” Reid said of a Week 1 return. “I’m pulling for him.”
The Chiefs open the regular season against the Detroit Lions in the NFL’s season opener on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Toney was injured in training camp Sunday while working on punt returns. Reid said Toney felt the injury when he was attempting to change direction suddenly.
Toney also underwent an offseason “cleanup procedure” on his knee.
The Chiefs have rebuilt their wide receiving group in the past couple of seasons after trading Tyreek Hill and losing JuJu Smith-Schuster in free agency. Toney has been a centerpiece of that effort. The Chiefs last year traded a couple of draft picks for Toney, a first-round pick by the New York Giants in 2021.
Toney was spectacular at times for the Chiefs after the trade, never more so than in the fourth quarter of their Super Bowl LVII win over the Philadelphia Eagles, He caught the touchdown pass that put the Chiefs in the lead early in the period and later set up another TD with a 65-yard punt return.
But because of injuries, Toney has yet to play a full NFL season. He missed six games as a rookie with the Giants and was limited to nine games last season.
ESPN’s Adam Teicher and Reuters contributed to this report.