Chiefs welcome Kareem Hunt back to Kansas City, will ease him into action

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kareem Hunt returned to the place where he became an NFL star Tuesday morning. He walked into the Chiefs’ training facility and was greeted by coach Andy Reid, general manager Brett Veach and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the same trio he believed he would never get to work with again.

“I gave him a high five and a hug when I saw him,” Mahomes said of Hunt, who joined the Chiefs’ practice squad on Wednesday. “He’s a person I used to spend a lot of time with.”

Hunt, a 29-year-old running back, was a free agent on Sunday as the Chiefs pulled off a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Similar to other veterans his age, Hunt knew his best chance to return to the league was if a team’s starting runner sustained a significant injury. Late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game, Chiefs starter Isiah Pacheco broke the fibula in his right leg. Within hours Monday morning, the Chiefs and Hunt began having conversations about a possible reunion, one neither side could have predicted just days before.

Hunt accomplished two goals Tuesday: He showed he’s healthy and athletic in a tryout workout and he demonstrated the appropriate accountability for his mistakes earlier in his career when he met with Reid and Veach, according to a team source.

After Hunt agreed to his deal with Kansas City late Tuesday afternoon, he posted a short Instagram video of his game highlights from 2018 when he helped the Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos by generating 86 all-purpose yards, including a touchdown in which he hurled. defender before reaching the end zone.

“Get it back, turbo….” Hunt wrote in his post.

But almost six years since that game, Hunt knows he is not the same player he was when he last played in a senior uniform.

He participated in practice Wednesday wearing a different jersey number, 29 instead of 27. He also dealt with several injuries, including surgery for a sports hernia last year. Because he didn’t go through the usual training regimen — training camp, padded practices and the preseason — Hunt will likely get two weeks to acclimate to his new teammates and the playbook while building his conditioning. He spent most of Wednesday with the scout team offense, the group that helps prepare the defensive starters.

“I want to see where he is,” Reid said. “He’ll know the base protections, the base (running plays) and some of the routes are new, but we’re not bending him and making him do all that. He just has to (hear) some of the terminology. We’re going to try to put him in a position where he’s ready to play, whether it’s this week or next week.”

The Chiefs selected Hunt in the third round of the 2017 draft. As a rookie, he led the league with 1,327 rushing yards. But he was released on November 30, 2018, after TMZ Sports posted a video of him shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel hallway on February 10, 2018.

At one time, the belief within the Chiefs organization was the team would never have a reunion with Hunt, especially after his sudden release. After the move, the team also noted that Hunt had lied about the incident on multiple occasions, including conversations with club owner Clark Hunt.

After an eight-game suspension in 2019, Kareem Hunt spent parts of five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, recording 2,285 rushing yards and 32 total touchdowns.

“I think people deserve a second chance,” Reid said. “We thought he needed a change of scenery and to get help and run a business there. We felt he did that. He did a nice job in Cleveland. We talked to the people there and there were no problems. It felt good to have him back. He is 29 years old, so time flies. He seems to have grown up a bit.”

But last year was Hunt’s worst season since being cut in 2019. In 15 games with the Browns, he recorded just 495 all-purpose yards on 150 touches, though he had nine touchdowns.

“I still saw the explosion, the toughness,” Reid said of reviewing Hunt’s film from last season. “We worked him out and felt good about it.”

During his time in Cleveland, Hunt maintained his friendship with Mahomes, attending the quarterback’s wedding more than two years ago.

“He learned and became a better person,” Mahomes said. “Football is secondary, but I’m glad to have him back. Everyone has friends who make mistakes. Some are bigger than others, but you want to see them take the right steps to become a better person for themselves, their family and the rest of society. You saw that with Kareem.”

While Hunt was on the practice field with his teammates Wednesday, Pacheco, a third-year player, had surgery to repair his broken fibula. Pacheco’s rehabilitation is expected to take at least two months, according to a team source.

Even if Hunt is available to play a small role, rookie Carson Steele is expected to start for the Chiefs in Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

“You hate to see (Pacheco) go down, but you have to step up and be the next guy,” Steele said. “If that happens in this game, I’ll take it with pride. It would mean everything, coming from the Cinderella story, to be an undrafted guy. But if it doesn’t happen, I’ll continue to take the role that I have and do everything we can do to have team success.”

Kansas City’s depth at running back has been a concern since the start of camp. Against the Falcons, the Chiefs will likely have Steele split snaps with seven-year veteran Samaje Perine, who joined the team just two weeks ago. Steele gained 24 rushing yards on seven attempts against the Bengals but also fumbled for one of the Chiefs’ three giveaways.

“Everybody makes mistakes, even at the biggest level,” Steele said. “I tried to hang on in that game, but all the coaches and veterans came up to me and said, ‘You’ve got to forget it and move on.’ That kind of helped me get those extra third-and-1 conversions after the fumble.”

Before his injury against the Bengals, Pacheco produced 111 all-purpose yards on 24 touches. In the locker room after the game, Reid hugged Pacheco, who was seen crying before he learned the extent of his injury.

If Pacheco can participate in football activities in two months, he could be available to return to the lineup when the Chiefs face the Los Angeles Chargers on December 9.

Almost 20 years ago, Reid was the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles when Hall of Fame receiver Terrell Owens sustained a high ankle sprain and broken fibula during a December 19, 2004, game against the Dallas Cowboys. Owens had surgery and seven weeks later returned to play in Super Bowl XXXIX, recording nine receptions in 14 targets for 122 yards.

“TO attacked it and he’s going to play in the Super Bowl,” Reid said. “Between the room he was sleeping in and basically living with (then-head athletic trainer) Rick (Burkholder) all day, he was able to come back relatively quickly.

“The thing you can learn from this is that you attack the injury and stay positive with it. Everyone is different, but he was not denied that opportunity. Pacheco, like TO, is one of those guys that you have to withdraw (during rehabilitation).”

(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)