The Kansas City Chiefs enter Week 3 of the NFL season undefeated after defeating both the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. Still, not everything is going perfectly for them.
In the Chiefs’ win over the Bengals, star running back Isiah Pacheco went down with an injury. As a result, Kansas City has signed Kareem Hunt. With the Chiefs on Sunday night this week, is Hunt going to be in the lineup?
Why Did the Chiefs Sign Kareem Hunt?
Despite moving to 2-0, the Chiefs lost Pacheco, who suffered a broken fibula that landed him on injured reserve. After leaving the game in a walking boot, he ended up getting successful surgery.
Due to landing on injured reserve, Pacheco will be out for at least four weeks. However, there’s no guarantee he’ll be back after just four weeks, potentially being out even longer.
“I can’t give you a time when he’ll return,” said head coach Andy Reid to KCTV5. “We’ll just see if it’s this season or next season.”
Despite Reid’s unwillingness to give a timeline, NFL insider Ian Rapoport said he could be out six to eight weeks.
In addition to Pacheco’s injury, former first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire has been on IR since the season began.
With Pacheco and Edwards-Helaire both out, that makes undrafted free agent rookie Carson Steele the starter in the meantime. It also means, despite having Samaje Perine on the roster, the Chiefs needed a running back to add for depth.
Their answer, in this case, was a reunion with Hunt, who was a star for the team that drafted him back in the late 2010s.
Revisiting Hunt’s Stats With the Chiefs
While Hunt is mostly remembered now for his time with the Cleveland Browns, he actually started his career with the Chiefs. A third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Hunt was the Chiefs’ starter out of the gate.
In his rookie season, Hunt started all 16 games. He had 272 attempts for 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns. He also caught 53 passes for 455 yards and three more touchdowns.
Hunt’s 1,327 yards were the best of his career, and it was the only season he’s had with over 1,000 yards.
In his second and last season with Kansas City, Hunt started 11 games and ran for 824 yards and seven touchdowns on 181 attempts. He also caught 26 passes for 378 yards and seven touchdowns.
Hunt’s time ended with the Chiefs on Nov. 30, 2018, however, after video footage was released of him shoving and kicking a woman, a claim that was filed earlier that year.