Giants' Kadarius Toney not worried about low snap count in Week 1: 'I get paid to play, not coach'

Toney played just seven snaps in New York's win over the Titans

The New York Giants don't have many wide receivers to rely on in the early portion of the season, which made Brian Daboll's usage of Kadarius Toney all the more perplexing. Toney played just seven snaps in the Giants' win over the Tennessee Titans, finishing with no catches and two carries for 23 yards. 

Toney's usage was particularly interesting considering the Giants had just Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, and Richie James available as the top receivers. A first-round pick of the Giants last season, Toney played fewer snaps than David Sills and Wan'Dale Robinson. 

The playing time wasn't ideal, but Toney didn't seem to worry much. After all, Giants did win and are over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2016 season.

"You go in wanting to do what you can for the team. That's what I did," Toney said Wednesday. "At the end of the day, I was there when my number was called. Simple.

"At the end of the day, I did my job. I get paid to do one thing: do my job. I get paid to play, not coach. I don't know what the plan was. At the end of the day, I just prepared as if I was going in and playing every play. I don't know what else to say."

Whether Toney was frustrated or not, he didn't show it. Coming off a year in which he had 39 catches for 420 yards and zero touchdowns, Toney has been under the microscope with the new coaching staff. The Giants need playmakers at wide receiver, but Daboll isn't giving players time based on their draft status. 

"We have confidence in Kadarius, I've mentioned this before a couple of weeks ago with our receiver position: It's a competitive situation," Daboll said earlier in the week. "And they'll be evaluated on a week-to-week basis. So, relative to inactives or playtime or amount of plays, everybody's got to earn their role. 

"One week it might be a whole game; one week, it might be less. But Kadarius has done a good job of learning our stuff. I have no concerns about him knowing our information."

Toney isn't going to complain about his playing time -- or lack thereof. If being available on the field and outworking his teammates in practice gets him more snaps, he has no problem living up to those standards.  

"If that's what's required, that's what I've got to do," Toney said. "Everybody knows I had the injury a couple of weeks ago and that's why I wasn't on the field. I guess that's just with that, I don't know. I don't know what to say.

"You prepare every week like you're playing. At the end of the day, you never know. Like he said, I had multiple formations that I was supposed to be in, and we didn't get around to them. There's nothing else that really needs to be explained."