Chiefs bring back running back Kareem Hunt

Kareem Hunt (Erik Drost, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Kyle Irving of The Sporting News on Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs have brought back running back Kareem Hunt of Willoughby, Ohio. According to spotrac.com, the terms of the deal are for one year, and $1.125 million.

The Chiefs were in need of a running back with the serious injury to Isiah Pacheco of Vineland, New Jersey, who is out six weeks with a broken fibula. At this time Hunt is apparently third on the Chiefs depth chart when it comes to the running back position. He is behind rookie Carson Steele of Greenwood, Indiana (an undrafted back out of the University of California Los Angeles), and Samaje Perine of Jackson, Alabama.

Hunt initially played two seasons with the Chiefs in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, he had a fabulous rookie season in the National Football League as he led the league with 1327 rushing yards, and was second in the NFL in voting for the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year. Hunt was only behind Alvin Kamara of the New Orleans Saints. However, you could make the argument that Hunt had a much better statistical season in 2017 than Kamara. Hunt had 1782 yards from scrimmage compared to 1554 for Kamara. Also in 2017, Hunt was selected to the Pro Bowl.

In two seasons with the Chiefs, Hunt had 453 rushes for 2151 rushing yards, and 15 touchdowns. He also had 79 catches for 833 receiving yards, and 10 touchdown catches.

This past season, in 2023, with the Cleveland Browns, Hunt had 135 yards rushing for 411 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. He also had 15 catches for 84 receiving yards. Hunt was a free agent heading into the 2024 season, but did not sign with any team.

The Chiefs are 3-0 this season. They are joined by the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers as the only five NFL teams undefeated in 2024.