Former Florida WR Kadarius Toney signs with Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are signing former Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney to the practice squad, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

The 2021 first-round played a season and a half with the New York Giants before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs released him ahead of the 2024 regular season.

Most consider Toney a first-round bust, but that didn’t keep needy teams from reaching out. He’d been meeting with teams in recent weeks. The Seattle Seahawks also hosted him, per the report, and he had more visits lined up.

Winding up on the practice squad isn’t ideal for a guy who was once viewed as a dangerous weapon for any NFL offense, but Toney hasn’t produced strong results since his rookie year.

Kadarius Toney since leaving Florida

Toney finished his college career with 2,641 all-purpose yards (69.5 average) over 38 games played at Florida. He caught 120 passes for 1,590 yards and 12 touchdowns and rushed for 580 yards and two more touchdowns as a Gator.

He was a key piece in Florida’s last New Year’s Six Bowl team, along with quarterback Kyle Trask and tight end Kyle Pitts in 2020.

As a rookie in the NFL, Toney showed flashes of being a playmaker, finishing the year with 39 receptions for 420 yards and no touchdowns. However, he only played in 10 games due to several different injuries.

That’s when the off-the-field issues began. Toney missed the first three weeks of voluntary workouts with trade rumors flying. Once he showed up to offseason workouts, he quickly was sidelined after undergoing knee surgery. Fall camp was also marred by injury — a hamstring issue that returned during Week 2 of the regular season.

The mid-season trade allowed Toney to return to the field with a much better offense around him. He quickly delivered the best performance of his career — six touches, 90 all-purpose yards and a touchdown — but his hamstring gave out against the following week.

There’s no doubt that Toney has talent, but he’s been injury-prone for most of his career and can be a difficult player to manage when things aren’t going well. After performing at replacement level in 2023 with Kansas City, it’s going to take some serious work with the practice squad for Cleveland to elevate him.

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