The Kansas City Chiefs are teaming up with a familiar face as the team reportedly signed running back Kareem Hunt to the practice squad.
Report by Nate Taylor from The athleteHunt now returns to the team that selected him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
With running back Isiah Pacheco reportedly out 6-8 weeks with a broken fibula, it’s no surprise that the Chiefs wanted to add depth at the position. It was a surprise to most that Hunt was the first running back to visit Kansas City. Hunt was released after an off-field incident in 2018 and later admitted that he “didn’t tell the Chiefs everything,” leading to the team deciding to release Hunt despite him rushing for nearly 3,000 yards from scrimmage in 27 games with the Chiefs.
Hunt spent the 2019–23 seasons with the Cleveland Browns, with his most productive year being 2020. Last season, Hunt appeared in 15 games and carried the ball 135 times for 411 yards, a career-low 3.0 yards per carry. He also caught 15 passes for 84 yards and also posted a career-low 5.6 yards per reception. At 29 years old, it’s hard to gauge how well Hunt will fit into the Chiefs’ offense, as he’s behind undrafted free agent rookie Carson Steele and veteran Samaje Perine, who is just over a month younger than Hunt.
On Monday, head coach Andy Reid confirmed that general manager Brett Veach would look for ways to re-staff the running back department behind Steele and Perine in Pacheco’s absence. However, practice squad backs Emani Bailey and Keaontay Ingram could have an early advantage after spending training camp and the preseason with the Chiefs.
“As far as Pacheco goes, we’re going to go with the guys we have here now,” Reid said. “Veach is going through his list and looking at guys and we’ll see where that goes. But we’re blessed to have some good guys here.”
