Giants hoping Kadarius Toney can return for final games

Remember Kadarius Toney? It seems like forever since we have seen the New York Giants’ first-round pick (No. 20 overall) on the field. That might change this weekend.

Head coach Joe Joe said Monday that Toney, who has not played since Week 11 due to a combination of quad and oblique injuries and a second stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list, is expected to rejoin the team this week. Toney is currently still on the COVID list.

“We expect to have KT back in the building with us midweek and get him moving out there and we’ll see how he looks,” Judge said. “Obviously, he missed some time from injury and now with COVID. We’ll see how that set him back and give him the opportunity to go out there, move around and see if he can help us this week or not.”

Toney has had a weird rookie season. Let’s see if I can run down all the twists and turns.

• A cleat issue that led to him practicing with one shoe on during a rookie mini-camp workout.
• Skipping mandatory OTAs, an unusual move for a rookie.
• Beginning training camp on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.
• Injuring a hamstring when he returned from COVID-19 and missing most of training camp.
• Hinting at his massive play-making potential with a six-catch, 78-yard game Week 4 vs. the New Orleans Saints and a 10-catch, 189-yard breakout performance Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys.
• Suffering a Week 6 ankle injury against the Los Angeles Rams and missing a Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers.
• Setting off a brief firestorm with a perhaps ill-advised tweet supporting Henry Ruggs III after the former Las Vegas Raider was involved in a fatal car crash. Ruggs is facing four felony charges in connection with the accident.
• Missing the last four games with the oblique/quad injuries and his second stint on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

Toney has played nine games. He has 35 receptions for 392 yards, averages of 3.9 receptions and 43.6 receiving yards per games.

Toney has returned just one punt for no yards, never really being healthy enough to work his way into the punt or kickoff return picture on more than an emergency basis.

His rookie season has not necessarily been a wasted one. Toney’s rookie season, though, has raised more questions — both about his reliability and the Giants’ ability to use him properly — than it has answered.