Giants have last laugh on bust Kadarius Toney, who rubbed Super Bowl ring in their faces

Former Giants wide receiver Kadarius Toney had a night to forget in Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season — and, oh, were Giants fans out in force on Twitter (now called X) to let him know.

Toney, a bust with the Giants who was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs last season, had three drops in a season-opening, 21-20 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night — one that was turned into a pick six by Lions rookie Brian Branch, whose score tied the game, 14-14, in the third quarter..

Former Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes tweeted: “Prayers up for Kadarius Toney’s mentions from Giants nation.” Well, he’s going to need them.

With 2:30 left in the fourth quarter and Chiefs trailing, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw to a wide-open Toney, who was in Kansas City’s 35-yard line, but the throw bounced off the receiver’s hands for an incomplete pass and likely cost the Chiefs a shot at a game-winning field-goal.

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Jordan Ranaan, Giants beat reporter for ESPN, tweeted: “Can’t trust Kadarius Toney, in every way imaginable. That’s why the Giants traded him.”

Internet trolls posted memes of stone hands, a player showing up to the facility and his access card not working, people dancing with glee (supposed to be the Giants’ front office) and other jokes: When does the flag drop on the next NASCAR race, someone asked. The answer: Whenever they hand it to Toney.

If Toney had simply batted the passes to the ground, the Chiefs — playing without injured tight end Travis Kelce — probably win. Still quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he still believes in Toney.

“I have trust in him,” Mahomes said, via Adam Teicher of ESPN. “He missed a lot of training camp, and obviously he wanted to play and fought [during] rehab hard so he could play and stuff’s not always going to go your way.

“Obviously, he would’ve wanted to catch a few of those in the game, but I’ve trusted he’s going to be that guy that I go to in those crucial moments, and he’s going to make the catch and win us some games like he did last year. So we’re going to continue to work him in, get him more and more reps, and I’m sure that those drops will kind of disappear.”

Toney’s fourth-quarter punt return helped the Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl in February, and he said he would enjoy rubbing the Giants’ noses in it. The Giants, however, point to the players they added with the draft picks connected to the Toney and the trade: offensive lineman Evan Neal, and tight ends Darren Waller and Daniel Bellinger.

In a viral tweet in June, the 24-year-old joked about where he plans to wear his Super Bowl ring the next time he comes to New York. Giants will get a good look at it too, because he plans on flipping them the bird.

Toney was taken 20th overall by the Giants in the 2021 NFL Draft.

He played 12 games and missed 12 because of injuries before being dealt to the Chiefs at the trade deadline last season. He left the Giants without ever having scored a touchdown. General manager Joe Schoen got third- and sixth-round draft picks for Toney.

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Manuel Gomez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.