Chiefs Receivers Met With New Opportunity Due To Toney Injury

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The Kansas City Chiefs once again face questions at the wide receiver position entering 2023. Arguably the most important part, especially from an advantageous perspective, was hoping that Kadarius Toney could remain healthy. The former Florida Gator playmaker already has an extensive injury history. But with a chance to assume the WR1 spot in Kansas City, the injury worries are already starting.

On the first day of training camp for returning veterans on Sunday, Toney tweaked his knee while shagging punts. This was apparently the same knee that he had surgery on earlier this offseason. Overall, Toney is expected to miss a significant portion of training camp. The Chiefs are hopeful to have Kadarius Toney back by the start of the regular season. Time will tell on that front, obviously.

Chiefs’ WR Kadarius Toney — who underwent an off-season cleanup procedure on his knee — aggravated the injury Sunday while fielding a punt and is expected to miss some time during training camp but be ready for the start of the regular season, per league source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 24, 2023

As a result of this injury, other Chiefs wide receivers will have a major opportunity to step up and gain more targets or a larger role. What does this mean for the Kansas City wide receiver group, as a whole? Let’s kick it off.

Skyy Moore Appears To Be Receiving Increased Workload

Marquez Valdes-Scantling is generally going to be seen as a top-two wide receiver option, no matter who the true WR1 is on the depth chart. Valdes-Scantling endured an up-and-down campaign last season. But overall, the former Green Bay Packer stood out against top competition and throughout the playoffs.

Outside of MVS, it appears that Skyy Moore is being setup for an increased workload. There were a few flashes for the Western Michigan product as a rookie last year. Though, that ended up resulting fewer and far between than anything else. Turn the page to 2023, and Moore looks to be getting every chance to consume a greater role in the Chiefs offense.

Andy Reid raved about the work that Moore put in this offseason, especially with his routes. The ball skills and run after catch ability were intriguing items within his skill set, beforehand. Now if Moore can put the route running and separation quickness together, Kansas City could be able to rely on him endlessly this upcoming season. Even though training camp is just beginning, Skyy Moore says he feels more comfortable currently, compared to this point last year, as he mentioned on Monday.

How Quickly Can Rice And James Secure Roles?

Granted, the Chiefs are not going to be placed near the top of any list for wide receiver rankings anytime soon. Kansas City seems to have a pair of wide receivers who are getting slept on quite a bit, nonetheless. One of those two is a true unknown at the NFL level, in rookie Rashee Rice. Elsewhere, Richie James could end up being a diamond in the rough, as far as offseason additions go for this Chiefs offense.

Rice was fortunate to be able to work out with Patrick Mahomes before he was even drafted by Kansas City in April. While working with each other in Texas, the quarterback-wide receiver duo appeared to have built some noticeable chemistry. Perhaps, Mahomes had a bit of a hand in the Chiefs drafting Rice. If so, this is a possible connection that could grow quicker than most may anticipate, especially if Kadarius Toney misses any regular season games. Rookies have historically started slow in Kansas City. Rashee Rice may be the one to break that mold.

On the other hand, Richie James is a bit of wild card. His workload is challenging to predict. That is especially true, given how often the Chiefs spread the wealth throughout the offense. Kansas City is getting a lot of speed from this addition. Possibly, James’ speed and sharp change of direction skills are the fastest of any wide receiver that Kansas City may have. This could be a player that benefits from looks over the middle of the field and in shallow areas, if Toney does miss extra time.

Can Justyn Ross Work Himself Onto Active Roster?

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One of the great unknowns about this current Kansas City Chiefs team, is the ceiling and overall ability of Justyn Ross. While he has never appeared in an NFL game, Ross has been receiving different levels of hype throughout the last couple of offseasons. Some thought that he may never get an opportunity, following his neck/spinal injury in college while with Clemson. He eventually joined the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2022. Despite some impressive work while training with Kansas City, the Chiefs eventually placed him on injured reserve with a foot injury, causing him to miss all of last season.

Ross has already been getting chances with the starters at 2023 training camp. Mahomes and others have strongly vouched for him in the past when talking with the media. There are questions surrounding Justyn Ross that are met with empty answers until he actually receives live reps against an opposing team. Nevertheless, this Kadarius Toney injury could give Ross an immediate opportunity to make the active roster and cash in on any chances coming his way. If he can stake his claim on the active roster, the hype will only continue to grow for a player that offers a true mystery box at this stage of his career.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.