Kadarius Toney said he wasn’t disappointed to play just seven snaps in the Giants’ 21-20 season-opening win at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
On Wednesday, Toney sat in front of the media and took the questions from the media. He had to already know which questions were coming his way.
In the first half of Sunday’s win over the Titans, Toney saw the field for only two snaps. In other words, if you blinked or went to refill on nachos, you probably missed him.
When rookie wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson left in the second quarter with a knee injury, Toney still didn’t see a larger role in the offense.
Seven snaps was all Toney would see in this game. Seven snaps out of 60 total plays ran by the Giants. He finished with two touches — both on rushes in the second half — for 23 yards.
The first-round pick last year out of Florida had to know the questions were coming his way. And there they were on Wednesday, right on time, from the media.
With the cameras and voice recorders on, Toney sat and fielded questions on his playing time, specifically the lack of it.
“I get paid to play, not coach,” Toney said Wednesday in the Giants locker room. “I don’t know what the plan was. At the end of the day, I have to prepare as if I was going and playing every play. I don’t know what else to say.”
Was Toney disappointed in the lack of playing time?
“Disappointed in victory? Disappointed in a victory?” he said rhetorically. “You sound crazy.”
“At the end of the day, I did my job,” Toney said. “I get paid to do one thing. Do my job, bro.”
And when the Giants did call Toney’s number, he was ready to go.
The “you sound crazy” quote will get the headlines this week when fans google Toney’s name. It’s just what comes with the business. What Toney, however, has control of is what else he told the media — his preparation.
“You go in wanting to do what you can for the team. That’s what I did. 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.”
With the 23-year old Toney, the talent is there. This much was clear when he ran for 19 yards on a gadget play.
Last season, Toney had 39 catches for 420 yards in 10 games as a rookie. That was a small sampling size of what the Giants know he brings to the table.
With Toney, ability hasn’t been his biggest hurdle in the league, it’s availability. He’s dealt with hamstring, ankle, shoulder, quad and abdomen injuries. He also had COVID-19 twice. Earlier this year, a knee procedure cost him time in spring. A hamstring took more time from Toney in training camp.
This doesn’t appear to be a Denzel Mims-Jets situation for Toney, where he’s buried on the depth chart. But, it was Richie James, a seventh-round draft pick by San Francisco in 2018, who caught a team-high five of six targets for 59 yards on Sunday.
It was James — not Toney — that saw increased playing time after Robinson went down.
“We’ll see what happens this week,” first-year head coach Brian Daboll said Monday. “The guys that were out there, we have confidence in. We have confidence in Kadarius. I think, again, I’ve mentioned this before a couple of weeks ago with our receiver position: It’s a competitive situation. 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.”
That’s the reality for Toney right now. He has to earn his playing time with a new coaching staff.
In the meanwhile, let’s give Toney credit for what some in the media have questioned about him, his maturity.
At the end of the day, Toney — like all of us — is human. It absolutely had to bother him to not be on the field as much as he wants or expects to be. But, just as in the case with Mims and the Jets, part of the job description is being ready when your number’s called.
Additionally, it’s knowing what to say, and what not to say, when the cameras and recorders are on.
Nicely done by Kadarius Toney.
Anthony Rushing is on Twitter @TonyRushingNY
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
