After a private workout and physical, the Kansas City Chiefs are adding former Cleveland Browns Running Back Kareem Hunt to their practice squad. Despite leaving the organization five years after an off-the-field incident, the team needed another veteran running back to replace the loss of Isiah Pacheco.
In the NFL, never say never because it likely means not likely. In the cast of Running Back, Kareem Hunt, who left the Kansas City Chiefs five years ago after a TMZ video went viral, returns to the team that drafted him back in 2017.
Ironically, that was the same year Patrick Mahomes was drafted. Further, both Mahomes and Hunt have the same agent, Chris Cabbot. With this signing, I’m sure Mahomes gave his opinion on bringing back Hunt, and it appears the Chairman of the Board, Clark Hunt, was good with it as well.
The injury to Isiah Pacheco facilitated the temptation to add the veteran runner to the practice squad. He is scheduled for surgery this week to repair his fractured fibula. With rookie Carson Steele and third-down specialist Samaji Perine, Hunt is familiar with the Chiefs’ offense.
Before he was jettisoned from the team, Hunt was lighting up the NFL. He led the league in rushing during his rookie season. A year later, Mahomes became the starter, and Hunt seemed like the perfect weapon for Andy Reid.
However, things went sideways.
Now, enough time has passed that this move was based solely on the right football move. To his credit, Hunt served an eight-game suspension in 2019 and returned to his hometown team in Cleveland, where he resurrected his NFL career with the Browns.
Though he’s not as fast as he was in a Chiefs uniform, he put up solid but modest numbers in Cleveland. In coming to Kansas City, he doesn’t need to be the featured back, but he will likely be added to the active roster once he’s up to speed on the offense.
As a free agent, Hunt did not have the benefit of an off-season program or training camp. Still, the Chiefs felt that he was in great shape, and no issues came up during his physical.
The Chiefs will play the 1-1 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night, and Hunt may not be active for a few games.
