Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney is taking a step back from social media after a rough outing in Thursday's 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions.
TMZ Sports noted the 24-year-old deactivated his account on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.
The move comes after Toney dropped three passes on Thursday night. One of them bounced off his hands and into the waiting arms of Lions safety Brian Branch for a pick-six that tied the score 14-14 early in the third quarter.
NFL @NFLBRIAN BRANCH PICK-SIX IN HIS FIRST NFL GAME <br><br>📺: <a href="">#Kickoff2023</a> on NBC<br>📱: Stream on <a href="">#NFLPlus</a> <a href=""> <a href="">
With Travis Kelce unavailable to play due to a knee injury, there was an added level of pressure on Kansas City's other pass-catchers to perform. It's a largely unproven group, with Marquez Valdes-Scantling being the best of the bunch based on his age and experience.
Toney, Isiah Pacheco, Noah Gray, Rashee Rice, Skyy Moore and Justyn Ross are all between the ages of 22 to 24.
While none of them individually dominated, it didn't seem like the Chiefs were going to have problems in the first half. Patrick Mahomes was 12-of-17 for 147 yards and two touchdowns. He completed passes to eight different receivers through the first two quarters.
In the second half, Mahomes completed just nine of 22 attempts. Four of his passes were dropped by receivers, including the three from Toney. The third-year wideout was targeted a total of five times, but he caught only one pass for one yard.
Benjamin Solak @BenjaminSolakKadarius Toney at -2.19 expected points added per target.<br><br>Put another way: throw the ball at Kadarius Toney 3 times; the other team scores a touchdown <a href="">
It's a stark difference compared to how much of a difference-maker Toney was during Kansas City's victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57 seven months earlier.
In that game, Toney's lone reception was a go-ahead touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter. He also had the longest punt return in Super Bowl history (65 yards) that set up Mahomes' four-yard touchdown pass to Skyy Moore that gave Kansas City a 35-27 lead.
The Chiefs acquired Toney in a midseason trade with the New York Giants last October. It seemed like a low-risk bet for Kansas City on the No. 20 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
Toney continues to be frustratingly erratic even though he can flash special talent at any moment. Thursday night was one that he will want to block out of his memory for a long time.
