The New York Giants are winding down another disappointing season. The team has two games left on the schedule and sits with a putrid 4-11 record. Fans expected a big turnaround in 2021 after New York finished the 2020 season with a 6-10 record. However, the maximum amount of wins the team can gain this season is six with only two games left, and this is including the extra game added to the NFL’s new seventeen-game schedule this year.
The Giants took a step backward this year. One of the main reasons why the Giants did not improve their record this year was injuries. The Giants are the most injured team in the NFL this season, losing so many key players for the season. Even some of the most exciting players on the roster had their seasons derailed, like Saquon Barkley, Blake Martinez, and Kadarius Toney.
Just when fans thought they had a reason to tune in and be excited to watch the Giants, that reason was quickly sidelined with injuries. Kadarius Toney totaled an insane 189 receiving yards in the Giants’ Week Five matchup with the Cowboys. But since then, the rookie wide receiver has barely seen the field, picking up injury after injury over the course of the season.
Kadarius Toney was once again listed on the injury report today. Toney did not participate in practice with a new shoulder injury.
Kadarius Toney’s long list of injuries
For as talented as Kadarius Toney is, he will only ever be as effective as his body allows him to be. In the NFL, sometimes the best ability is availability. Unfortunately, Toney has struggled to be available to play this season. Here is the long list of injuries and ailments that Kadarius Toney has had to deal with this season:
- COVID (2x)
- Hamstring
- Ankle
- Thumb
- Quad
- Oblique
- Shoulder
When he is on the field, Kadarius Toney is one of the Giants’ most explosive playmakers. But it has been a struggle for Toney to get on the field and to get to 100% when he’s out there.
The Giants selected Kadarius Toney with the twentieth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. This draft was praised by many and criticized by others. One of the biggest criticisms of the selection and the prospect selected was Kadarius Toney’s slender frame. Kadarius is listed at 193 pounds but has a thin frame complemented by a playing style one would see from a 230-pound running back. He is explosive and has elite tackle-breaking ability, but it seems as though Kadarius does not have the body type necessary to match his playing style.
Heading into the 2022 offseason, Kadarius Toney is still one of the Giants’ most exciting players. But one must wonder if these injury problems will persist in the future. Toney is talented, but he needs to get healthy. Maybe the Giants should consider shutting Kadarius down for the final two games of the season and letting him get a head start on the offseason to get healthy.