Andy Reid takes blame for Kadarius Toney drops in Chiefs loss: 'I've got to look in the mirror on that one'

Reid took the fall for Toney's performance

Kadarius Toney had one of the worst openers for a wide receiver in recent years, finishing with three drops in the Kansas City Chiefs' opening night loss to the Detroit Lions. Toney had just one catch for one yard and had two touches for zero yards in the defeat, leaving many questions whether the Chiefs should consider making a change in the starting lineup at wide receiver. 

Being the players coach that he is, Andy Reid took the heat for Toney's performance. 

"You know what I would probably take the blame on that – when I said that after the game, I meant that," Reid said to reporters Monday, via a Chiefs transcript. "Listen, he missed all of training camp from honestly the first punt return pre practice on through, so he literally had no training camp until just the last few days when he got back here – and we measured that, we didn't give him a lot. With that, I thought him getting in the game was important."

The Chiefs finished with four drops in the loss, the most in any game Patrick Mahomes started. In addition to Toney's three drops on Week 1, he also has nine drops on 82 career targets -- the highest drop rate (11.0%) among 105 wide receivers with 75-plus targets since entering the NFL in 2021.

Reid has no problem shouldering the blame for how Toney played. He's never one to throw his players under the bus.

"To be fair, I've got to look in the mirror on that one," Reid said. "I probably didn't put him in the best position there because he doesn't drop the ball, that's just not his deal. He's a very secure catcher. 

"I think that the only way we're going to get him back is playing him. I think this week will be different than the last week. But I thought it was important that he got in the game, got caught up on the speed, but I probably put him in bad positions – primary position there especially later in the game – he's still getting his legs back and all that."

The more game reps Toney gets, the more comfortable he will be. That's what Reid is baking on in the weeks ahead. 

"I have talked to him a couple different times; we just need to keep going through the process here," Reid said. "You've got to keep playing and the more he plays – that's just not his thing. 

"He's not a guy that drops balls. He's got great hands. We just have to keep working through it."