Could the Steelers and Mike Tomlin Be The Perfect Landing Spot for WR Kadarius Toney

[Steeler Nation]

The Pittsburgh Steelers still need a lot of help in the wide receiver room. It’s likely that the team will spend a first or second round draft selection on one of the top receivers on Thursday night during the 2022 NFL Draft. But there are reports coming out of New York that the Giants are trying to move on from 2021 first round draft pick Kadarius Toney already.

SI.com


Pat Leonard from the New York Daily News says that the Giants are making calls to other NFL teams to see what they could possibly get in a trade for the receiver.

Like most players that get involved with trade rumors Toney seemed to speak out against the report last night.

“If you believe everything on the internet you gullable [sic],” Toney posted on his Instagram story Friday night, with a cartoon of Jerry the mouse (from Tom and Jerry) pointing and laughing.

Last season Toney had a ton of injuries, and COVID-19 issues that caused him to miss several games. The Giants also began to question his commitment to football after he wasn’t able to learn the offense, and had poor meeting behaviors. Now Toney hasn’t reported to voluntary off-season work outs either. Which isn’t a huge deal, because it’s voluntary, but for someone who had so many issues in 2021 you’d think he would want to show up and put in the work in front of teammates and coaches.

A look at what Kadarius Toney can do with the ball in his hands. pic.twitter.com/5jpBsWpcai

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 22, 2022

Now after covering all of his issues why would the Steelers want to add a player with such issues to their team? Well the answer is Mike Tomlin. He’s been able to keep a lot of the Steelers problem child’s under control for many years. Most recently Antonio Brown. While he finally went off the rail after the 2018 season, Tomlin kept him in check for many years.

Toney wouldn’t be a huge risk in terms of salary. He’s on his rookie contract for at least three more years with a 5th year option available. That would be huge considering the money that teams are throwing at receivers lately. The talent is there. If you watched the clip up above from Field Yates it’s apparent. He can do it all with the ball in his hands. As a senior at Florida Toney had 70 receptions for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns.


This is what NFL.com had to say about him heading into the draft last season:

Slot talent who competes like a player bigger than his listed size. Toney has battled injuries, which helped cap his production until the 2020 season, when it finally clicked for the entire offense. His routes can look like one-on-one isolation basketball moves at times, but he has the ability to make instant cuts and break his routes off sharply. He could become a much more creative and consistent route runner in due time. He’s an atypical NFL slot in some ways and is likely to do his best work in a scheme that allows him plenty of run-after-catch opportunities. He’ll need more polish but should contribute right away as a receiver and punt returner.

While with the Steelers Tomlin has been able to develop some players that have had maturity issues. That seems to be the case for Toney. Now Tomlin has also failed in some cases, like Le’Veon Bell. But it would probably be more correct to put the blame on Bell’s agent for giving him horrible information during his contract disput with the team.

Most recently Tomlin had given Dwayne Haskins a second chance after he was thrown away by Washington. While it’s unclear if Haskins’ would’ve been able to turn his career around, we know that Tomlin helped him grow as a person. The maturity issues he had in Washington didn’t come out in Pittsburgh. He was a solid teammate, and it’s very sad that he lost his life before we could see the complete transition.

It’s unclear what the cost would be to acquire Toney, but it could be lower than anyone might expect. It’s possible that they want a second round pick in return for him, but if there isn’t any takers teams could possibly steal him away for a third round pick.

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[MTC]

Wasn’t used properly with the G-men. Would look good in the B&G

 

[Drink IRON City]

Why would we want that kind of problem ????

HARD PASS

We will get that high pick WR and things will look much better.

DJ / Chase / Muuuth / good futures on roster just need that speed guy in the draft.



Salute the nation

 

[Omar10213245]

f.u.c.k no. dude has a major attitude problem and his on-field ability doesn't come close to making up for that. hard, and i mean HAARRRRD pass.

 

[slashsteel]

f.u.c.k no. dude has a major attitude problem and his on-field ability doesn't come close to making up for that. hard, and i mean HAARRRRD pass.

I mean what could go wrong our beloved team has such a good record of handling the difficult minded players.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

I mean what could go wrong our beloved team has such a good record of handling the difficult minded players.

I would say we actually do. Better than many.

 

[slashsteel]

I would say we actually do. Better than many.

Really? Harrison and Ingram not handled well, AB festered into uncontrollable. Bryant smoked his way off the roster. I can't say I agree with this viewpoint.

 

[ZonaBurgh]

Last season Toney had a ton of injuries, and COVID-19 issues that caused him to miss several games. The Giants also began to question his commitment to football after he wasn’t able to learn the offense, and had poor meeting behaviors. Now Toney hasn’t reported to voluntary off-season work outs either. Which isn’t a huge deal, because it’s voluntary, but for someone who had so many issues in 2021 you’d think he would want to show up and put in the work in front of teammates and coaches.


Yeah, we need this guy.

 

[bkwheat28]

Is it too much to ask to get back to high character/ football oriented players that want to play football and not just be there to use the platform to grow their “brand” or raise their social media followers?! Draft well, use FA to smartly fill holes…..you know, what used to be our calling card and resulted in legitimate championship aspirations? I’m exhausted with drama but maybe that’s just todays world and I’m now the old “get off my lawn” guy

 

[bkwheat28]

I mean what happened to days of shooting at police helicopters or driving intoxicated at 100+ mph in residential areas? You know…. Good clean fun.

 

[mightyguru]

I’m a Gator dad and really liked him at Florida but damn...not a great track record in the NFL thus far.

Pass.

 

[Drink IRON City]

I mean what happened to days of shooting at police helicopters or driving intoxicated at 100+ mph in residential areas? You know…. Good clean fun.

Well back then they had an advantage to a degree, one guy shaved an arrow into his hair cut so he would know what direction to go........

Talk about a guidance advantage compared to what these kids have today..............


Salute the nation

 

[CoolieMan]

is there a player on the trading block or a free agent that the steelers haven't been linked to?

 

[slashsteel]

is there a player on the trading block or a free agent that the steelers haven't been linked to?

Landry unfortunately.

 

[Shane Falco]

Would only make sense if they draft Pickett. Then and only then can they save their record from falling below .500

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

Really? Harrison and Ingram not handled well, AB festered into uncontrollable. Bryant smoked his way off the roster. I can't say I agree with this viewpoint.

Harrison was bungled a bit. AB was let go before he totally lost it and they got more out of him than most would have. Bryant wasn’t kept around to spread discord. They handled it fine the player not so much. I like the idea that Tomlin wants volunteers not hostages and just cuts bait. Maybe not the best financial move but the best for the locker room. I think he does fine most of the time and far better than many teams do.

 

[slashsteel]

Harrison was bungled a bit. AB was let go before he totally lost it and they got more out of him than most would have. Bryant wasn’t kept around to spread discord. They handled it fine the player not so much. I like the idea that Tomlin wants volunteers not hostages and just cuts bait. Maybe not the best financial move but the best for the locker room. I think he does fine most of the time and far better than many teams do.

Interesting take. Not sure a lot of fans would think they handled it fine.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

Interesting take. Not sure a lot of fans would think they handled it fine.

Probably. I think the players left on the team would have a far different view than we as fans. I think to a degree Tomlin gets **** for things he doesn't deserve along with the things he does deserve. The leagues view of him as a locker room manager seems to be pretty high. I think we look at the outside view and forget the inside view. Letting guys go who want to leave may be painful on the field and sometimes financially but it tells the players they are not captives here. Sure some might take advantage of that and that is a risk you take but it also instills the idea that team actually cares about how you feel not just what they can get out of you. This can breed loyalty in the guys that want to be here.

I might be totally out of mind but contrary to most peoples opinions and partially based on the performance of guys who leave, I think Tomlin makes some guys look better and than they actually are by getting more out of them than many coaches would. This leads us to having an inflated view of their talent and lend to the idea that Tomlins teams are better than they are and underachieving when in fact they just may be overachieving and looking more talented than they truly are. But I also could be full of ****.

 

[Wolf44]

Tomlin is not the guy to straighten anyone out, he is an enabler and weak on discipline on and off the field.

 

[Steeltime]

Lessee ... bad attitude, does not work to get better, disruptive, team that has him on a rookie contract looking to dump him, and oh yeah, always injured or dinged up and happy standing on the sidelines collecting a check.

Do we want that guy?

News Media:

 

[Drink IRON City]

is there a player on the trading block or a free agent that the steelers haven't been linked to?

Our one and only Coach, a coaching staff or player addition his camp has been silent on activity................




Salute the nation

 

[Drink IRON City]

Probably. I think the players left on the team would have a far different view than we as fans. I think to a degree Tomlin gets **** for things he doesn't deserve along with the things he does deserve. The leagues view of him as a locker room manager seems to be pretty high. I think we look at the outside view and forget the inside view. Letting guys go who want to leave may be painful on the field and sometimes financially but it tells the players they are not captives here. Sure some might take advantage of that and that is a risk you take but it also instills the idea that team actually cares about how you feel not just what they can get out of you. This can breed loyalty in the guys that want to be here.

I might be totally out of mind but contrary to most peoples opinions and partially based on the performance of guys who leave, I think Tomlin makes some guys look better and than they actually are by getting more out of them than many coaches would. This leads us to having an inflated view of their talent and lend to the idea that Tomlins teams are better than they are and underachieving when in fact they just may be overachieving and looking more talented than they truly are. But I also could be full of ****.

There is merit in your post but one thing you forgot is that Coach Tomlin is a RE-active and NOT a PRO-active coach. Instead of dictating how thing need to go he sits back andlets it play out.

These players take it to where it has to go in order for them to get what they want. Little chest should have been traded a year earlier and we would have gotten theat 1st and 3rd for him, Harrison should have been let go sooner rather than later and possibly traded. Ben is gone and now they actually put work into QB, should have happened a year earlier. OL, re-actionary............ are just some examples.

I know there is rebuttle of hindsight but Tomlin has been this way since day 1.



Salute the nation

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

There is merit in your post but one thing you forgot is that Coach Tomlin is a RE-active and NOT a PRO-active coach. Instead of dictating how thing need to go he sits back andlets it play out.

These players take it to where it has to go in order for them to get what they want. Little chest should have been traded a year earlier and we would have gotten theat 1st and 3rd for him, Harrison should have been let go sooner rather than later and possibly traded. Ben is gone and now they actually put work into QB, should have happened a year earlier. OL, re-actionary............ are just some examples.

I know there is rebuttle of hindsight but Tomlin has been this way since day 1.



Salute the nation

I disagree on AB. He was still a contributing and relatively well behaved. That one is definitely hindsight. Harrison was kept around longer than he should have been and the dynamic there was a bit weird. I blame both sides in that one. QB is also tough, who would we have taken last year worth anything at our spot? Not even sure there is value this year in the first. Rather go with what we have and not force the issue even this year. I think Tomlin may be more proactive than it seems. As you said we only get the hind sight view and don't truly know what is happening in the building. But these are just my opinions for what they are worth. I have no better grasp on the truth of the matter than anyone else.

 

[Ike Kelly]

Sure is a lot of revisionist theories going on. As Justin said Bell and Bell’s agent caused the cluster that was Bell‘s holdout. Tomlin had no involvement with his contract demands. Remember Lev Bell said he was going to training camp, then sits out, says he will arrive for season opener, never arrives. Finally, he ends the stalemate sitting out till week 10. Deebo, wanted out because he wasn’t starting and felt he should have been. Acted out his foolishness and tarnished his legacy, although he’s already been accepted back by the organization. Martavis issues weren’t disruptive by any means other than missing games due to failed drug tests. When a player is suspended he is not allowed to be with his teammates, the facility or training staff. How is that the fault of the coaching staff. Coach Drake was his position coach. What else was he supposed to do? Bryant had severe depression due to the loss of his mother and was self medicating, he didn’t fully use the resources that every NFL player has access to.

 

[slashsteel]

Sure is a lot of revisionist theories going on. As Justin said Bell and Bell’s agent caused the cluster that was Bell‘s holdout. Tomlin had no involvement with his contract demands. Remember Lev Bell said he was going to training camp, then sits out, says he will arrive for season opener, never arrives. Finally, he ends the stalemate sitting out till week 10. Deebo, wanted out because he wasn’t starting and felt he should have been. Acted out his foolishness and tarnished his legacy, although he’s already been accepted back by the organization. Martavis issues weren’t disruptive by any means other than missing games due to failed drug tests. When a player is suspended he is not allowed to be with his teammates, the facility or training staff. How is that the fault of the coaching staff. Coach Drake was his position coach. What else was he supposed to do? Bryant had severe depression due to the loss of his mother and was self medicating, he didn’t fully use the resources that every NFL player has access to.

Deebo and Ingram were used wrong and ended badly. There was no revisionist history there. Both situations could have been handled better. ABs issues festered for a long time and was a three ring circus. Colbert had options with Bell, I still feel that could have been handled better. He could have traded him for one. No way should that have dragged out as long as it did. How did that benefit the team? I don't think we can say it wasn't a distraction. Bryant was a hard situation with the rules in place, probably couldn't done too much there. So I give you that. But the rest at the very least could have all been handled better. Didn't really care for the tunnel anthem incident either.

There is an element in player fault sure. But when your incidents are the band of the hand some finger pointing rightfully gets pointed at Tombert too.