Kadarius Toney has likely hit his wall in the National Football League

The Cleveland Browns learned a familiar lesson on Sunday. Instead of taking another team's word for it—say, the Kansas City Chiefs or New York Giants—the Browns found themselves putting some hope in the obvious athleticism of Kadarius Toney only to find mental miscues ruining the opportunity once again.

For those who missed it, Toney, the mercurial and maligned wide receiver and returner, got a decent chance to show what he can do in a new environment on Sunday with the Browns. While the offensive snaps have been few this season, with only 17 in three games for Toney in '24, he did get a chance to show what he can do as a punt returner.

It's hard to imagine that Toney will get another chance in the NFL.

Let's just say things didn't turn out so hot for Toney.

If that scene looks familiar, it is, and some Chiefs fans might want to ignore that clip entirely, since it can trigger previous emotions of watching Toney's errors in red and gold.

The Chiefs first traded for Toney during the 2022 NFL season when they sent third and sixth round picks to the Giants in exchange for the former first-round pick. From there, injuries often kept Toney from even showing what he could do, but in those instances where he was actually on the field, Toney had a way of pulling everyone in only to let everyone down.

For instance, Toney's incredible punt return in Super Bowl LVII set a record for the longest ever and will forever be a part of Chiefs' lore. The problem is that there were 10 dropped passes, wrong routes taken, fumbles, or the like for every one outstanding play when it came to Toney. That's why the Chiefs couldn't even find a taker for him on the trade market, as they decided to eventually release him outright despite having a year left on his contract.

Now the Browns have released Toney on Tuesday afternoon, per Adam Schefter, which will make him a free agent once again. Even this year, he languished on Cleveland's practice squad for months before getting recent chances on the active roster. For all that time, other teams could have signed him away for nothing and yet he remained there for the taking. That likely serves as a sign of what's to come in his near future.

It's possible Toney could extend his career with a stint elsewhere—such as the Canadian Football League—and stand out. Certainly he has time to turn around opinions of him with a more stable and productive stay elsewhere. But for now, it's hard to imagine any NFL team will touch him following his release from Cleveland.