Kadarius Toney lost his cool in the heat of Sunday’s loss at Dallas, but the rookie receiver publicly apologized on Monday and said it won’t happen again.
“I feel like I need to apologize to mainly everyone because as far as little kids looking up to me, it’s not the example I want to set for them,” Toney said on a Zoom audio call. “Everybody makes mistakes, but we always have to be accountable for our emotions and our actions.”
The NFL likely will fine Toney but won’t suspend him for the punch he threw at Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee in Sunday’s fourth quarter, according to a source.
Head coach Joe Judge talked to Toney and the entire Giants team on Monday and reiterated “that’s something we’re not going to condone.”
The coach implied there would be internal discipline but said he’d “keep things in-house.”
It’s possible he could bench Toney for the start of Sunday’s game against the L.A. Rams, provided Toney is able to play through an apparent right ankle injury that required X-rays.
“I’m good,” said Toney, who saw a doctor on Monday for a follow-up appointment, as well.
That’s how Judge handled tackle Andrew Thomas being late to a team meeting last October: by benching him for the first two offensive series against Washington.
“I could have responded differently,” Toney said. “It’s more of a moral thing. I know right from wrong. I know this is not boxing or hockey where you can just fight and stuff like that. At the end of the day I gotta take responsibility for what I did. That’s what it is. It was a wrong action.”
Toney tweeted out an apology on Monday morning after speaking with Judge.
“Wanna take the time out to apologize to the entire organization, Owners, My Teammates and the entire #Big Blue,” Toney wrote. “Your emotions just can get the best of you sometimes…..No Excuses just actions #ThankYall.”
He didn’t want to rehash the details of why he responded so violently to Kazee’s late toss of Toney to the turf.
“It was more of in the moment, learn from it type of thing,” Toney said. “I don’t really wanna get into the details. But the footage is out there if you wanna [watch it], you know.”
This is Toney’s second public apology as a Giant. His first was a September apology for calling the media “clowns,” although that was in response to an inaccurate story about him.
Judge said: “I like the way this guy has responded to a lot of things and I’m confident he’s going to respond the right way to this.”
The Giants desperately need Toney to respond well this time after his record-breaking performance in Dallas, with Daniel Jones (concussion), Saquon Barkley (left ankle sprain) and Kenny Golladay (hyperextended knee) all in jeopardy.
Toney’s 189 receiving yards on 10 catches against the Cowboys set a new Giants rookie record.
It broke Odell Beckham Jr.’s previous record of 185 yards in a December 2014 loss to the Eagles. And it’s the highest total by a Giants receiver since Beckham’s 222 yards in a December 2016 win over the Baltimore Ravens.
“He’s a great player,” Cowboys linebacker Keanu Neal said of Toney. “He’s extremely shifty. He stops on a dime. That’s one thing I noticed playing him. He gets open, he’s a great route runner. I think he’s going to be a great one.”
Toney said of Sunday’s performance: “It really felt special to execute a game plan. We worked over the plays throughout the week, and it felt good to execute at a high level.”
The most underrated part of Toney’s impressive game might have been how much pain he fought through to do it.
He got hurt on a 38-yard catch down the right sideline early in the second quarter. That’s the play that prompted a furious Toney to pop off the bench and accidentally headbutt inactive safety Jabrill Peppers as he tried to manage the pain.
“During that moment, like me, I’m a dog,” Toney said. “That’s the mentality I have. So if I feel like I’m gonna push through it, that’s what I’m gonna do. At the end of the day I’m gonna do what’s best for the team because I like winning.”
Outside of his on-field production, however, Toney knows it’s important to “learn from” his fourth quarter mistake.
“It was just a one time thing,” he assured. “All I’ve got to do is really show by my actions. We’ve got a few opponents coming up that [are] rowdy, I guess you could say. But it’s not about what they do. It’s about how I react.”
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