Following news that running back Isiah Pacheco would be out for 6–8 weeks due to a fractured fibula, the Kansas City Chiefs made a surprising move to bolster their running back room by reuniting with former third-round pick Kareem Hunt.
Hunt racked up 2,984 yards from scrimmage during his 27 regular season games with the Chiefs in 2017 and 2018 before being waived following an off-the-field incident in 2018. Hunt later admitted wrongdoing — “I was in the wrong” — and a lack of honesty with the team — “I didn’t tell them everything” — following his release.
Hunt then spent the 2019–2023 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, appearing in 64 games and recording 3,342 yards from scrimmage and 32 touchdowns. Despite recording a career-low in yards per carry (3.0) and yards per reception (5.6) in 2023, Hunt appears to have been the Chiefs’ first call when the severity of Pacheco’s injury was understood.
On Wednesday, head coach Andy Reid spoke to the media and addressed Hunt’s return to Kansas City for the first time.
“We’ll get him in here and get some work, kind of get him back in the swing of playing and then we’ll just see,” Reid said. “As the game gets closer, we’ll see how things go there and so on, but we’ll try to get him in a position where he’s ready to play either this week, next week, or the following week.”
Reid reiterated that “there’s a chance” Hunt plays against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3.
Reid was then asked about Hunt’s history with the Chiefs, noting his swift release from the team in 2018. What was the process of the team’s decision to reopen the door to Hunt after his departure years ago?
“It’s really what we told him and [said] publicly, we just thought he needed a change of scenery and to get some help and take care of business there,” Reid said. “And we felt like he did that. He did a nice job in Cleveland and we talked to the people there and there were no issues there, so we felt OK about bringing him back. He’s 29 years old now, so time flies, but he’s 29 years old. It looks like he’s grown up some.”
After confirming that this was the first time the Chiefs realistically considered reuniting with Hunt, Reid was asked what his conversations with Hunt were like and how Hunt gave the team confidence in his personal growth.
“Well, just calling around to make sure that things were OK,” Reid said. “Pat [Patrick Mahomes] stayed good friends with him, he was at Pat’s wedding, and those two came out in the same class and developed a friendship here, and then their general manager spoke highliy of him, coaches and so on, so we felt good about it.”
Asked if Reid personally needed to have a conversation with Hunt to feel comfortable bringing him back, Reid noted that he spoke with Hunt at Mahomes’s wedding and again before and after Hunt arrived in Kansas City this week. Then, the head coach was asked if he felt like he specifically needed to discuss Hunt’s past before bringing him back to KC.
“Just make sure that [you] keep your nose clean, right?” Reid said. “That’s the important part, and go play football. I think people deserve a second chance if they’ve done something to work on the first part of it.”
