A lot has been said about New York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney in the past week, and it’s difficult to determine how much of it is accurate. The conversation started when he did not report to voluntary minicamp practice on Wednesday and reached a fever pitch on Friday night, when Pat Leonard of The New York Daily News reported that the Giants are shopping Toney on the trade block.
Shortly after the trade report broke, Toney himself joined the conversation. He posted a short message on his Instagram story, which can be seen below.
Kadarius Toney/InstagramNew York Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney posted this message on his Instagram story.
“If you believe everything on the internet you gullable [sic],” Toney wrote.
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This message sounds like Toney is downplaying the possibility of a trade. This sentiment is in line with the New York Post’s latest reporting, which says that the Giants are listening to offers from other teams but a trade remains “unlikely.”
Earlier this offseason at the NFL Scouting Combine, Giants general manager Joe Schoen was asked about the possibility of trading Toney. His opinion may have changed since then, but he did not sound eager to move the former first-round pick at the time.
“I don’t think Kadarius is a tradable piece,” Schoen said at the Combine, via the New York Post. “Again, if somebody calls, we’re gonna listen. But, he’s a good young player that our coaches really like. We’ve been in constant contact with him and we’re excited to see what he can do.”
It’s important to remember that Schoen did not draft Toney, former general manager Dave Gettleman did. The current regime is still trying to figure out which of Gettleman’s leftovers are worth building around, and that’s a fluid evaluation when it comes to Toney.
If Toney had attended minicamp this week, these trade rumors probably wouldn’t be circulating. Or, at the very least, Toney would have an opportunity to address them in person rather than on social media — like star running back Saquon Barkley did this week.
Instead, the stage is set for a summer of wide receiver drama in New York.
And that’s not exactly a new development…
Giants Can’t Seem to Escape Wide Receiver Drama
Wide receiver drama seems to follow the New York Giants no matter what they do these days. Maybe it’s a curse brought on by the infamous Boat Trip, but there’s a definite trend going on with this team and this particular position group.
From Odell Beckham Jr.’s emotional sideline moments to his overpaid replacements to the recent trade rumors involving Toney, Giants receivers simply cannot stop making negative headlines.
You could go even further back and examine this issue deeper. Former Giants receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz were never “cancers” in the locker room, but the way their respective careers were shortened by injuries is indicative of the team’s poor luck at the position. Then there was Plaxico Burress, whose time with the Giants came to an end when he literally shot himself in the leg.
You’d have to go all the way back to Amani Toomer to find a Giants wide receiver who was consistently productive, rarely injured and never considered a negative influence in the locker room. And Toomer last played for the team in 2008.
What Could The Giants Get By Trading Toney?
Even if the Giants do trade Toney, they’re unlikely to get much in return.
Ralph Vacchiano of SNY estimates that the Giants could get, at best, a third-round draft pick.
Considering the fact that the Giants spent a first-round pick on Toney last season and only got 420 receiving yards (and zero touchdowns) from him as a rookie, such a trade would be a major flop. New York would be much better served to stick with Toney and see what they can get out of him in Year 2.
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