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Kadarius Toney's NFL career on last legs after being waived by Browns

Wide receiver Kadarius Toney found himself a free agent once again on Tuesday, after the Cleveland Browns waived him, according to ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi.

Toney made a pair of massive mistakes in Cleveland's 27-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. The wideout was flagged on a 15-yard penalty for taunting after receiving one punt, and muffed a second punt that the Steelers recovered.

After Toney's latest release, you can't help but wonder if the talented wide receiver has any kind of future in the NFL. The Florida product was drafted 20th overall by the New York Giants in the 2021 NFL Draft, but struggled to make an impact almost from the jump. He failed to rack up more than 500 yards in his rookie season, and was shipped to Kansas City before the end of his sophomore campaign.

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With the Chiefs, Toney developed a reputation as a frustrating player, prone to drops and mental lapses throughout his two years in Kansas City. He caught a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown pass in Super Bowl LVII, but from that point on, he became one of the fan base's primary sources of ire with his inability to catch passes.

Things got so bad that Toney found himself benched during the Chiefs' playoff run last season, and was allowed to leave via free agency this year. He failed to break 200 yards receiving in either of his Chiefs' seasons.

He went unsigned for most of this year, until the Browns brought him onto their practice squad, and eventually onto the regular roster this year. He had stepped into a punt return role for Cleveland, but the same mental lapses that have plagued his entire career have seen a third team give up on him in four years.

Cleveland felt like Toney's last chance to prove he was more than the mental mistakes, more than the drops. It was his last chance to show he could be a serviceable wide receiver on a team with a dearth of them on the roster.

But, once again, Toney couldn't hack it. The Browns got the entire Kadarius Toney experience in just three games and four punt return attempts. The drops, the mental lapses, all of it. And they decided they'd seen enough.

At this point, it's hard to see another NFL team give Toney a shot; he's washed out of three separate rosters, all of which were in dire need of help at wide receiver. Why would any team trust him again?

Given how his Browns tenure went, don't expect to see Toney getting meaningful NFL snaps again at any point in the near future.

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