Kareem Hunt has been the ultimate blessing for the Kansas City Chiefs, who desperately needed an answer at running back. Just two weeks into the season, their star running back Isaiah Pacheco went down with an injury that was going to sideline him for most of the season. With no consistent run game to speak of, the Chiefs found an old friend in Hunt, who’s been solid since coming in.
It was a familiar sight for fans in Kansas City as Hunt first exploded into the league as a rookie for the franchise. However, off-the-field controversies drove him out of the team, and they eventually moved on. It’s been a long path back, but what happened in 2018?
Kareem Hunt’s Road to Super Bowl 59
Hunt had a solid career with the Toledo Rockets at the college football level, winning three All-MAC team selections in his four years with the team. He tallied 1,475 and 1,631 yards in the 2014 and 2016 seasons.
Going into the 2017 NFL Draft, he was the sixth running back taken off the board with the Chiefs selecting him with the 86th overall pick. He would go on to have an explosive rookie season, tallying a league-leading 1,327 yards en route to a Pro Bowl and All-Rookie team selection.
He was having another strong season in sophomore year, totaling 824 yards in just 11 games before allegations of an assault against him surfaced. As a result, Kansas City released him on November 30, 2018, with co-owner and CEO Clark Hunt releasing a statement against the RB for not being honest with the team regarding the incident.
TMZ broke the news that same day from a video in early February where Hunt assaulted a woman by pushing her to the ground and kicking her after Hunt’s friend revealed she had called him a racial slur. He was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list, but no criminal charges were placed against him after the woman stopped cooperating with the authorities.
Even though he walked away relatively unscathed, Hunt had a hard time finding his way back into the league. Eventually, he joined the Cleveland Browns, where he stayed for the next five seasons, although he could never achieve his early career success.
After last season, he was a free agent who didn’t get picked up. And it might have been the end of his career if he wasn’t proactive when he saw Pacheco go down in Week 2.
“I saw the injury but didn’t think anything of it,” said Hunt. “I was like, ‘Oh, it probably won’t happen.’ But the next morning, my agent said, ‘Man, I don’t know. Do you want to shoot those guys a text or something? Just to let them know?’ I was like, ‘That ain’t a bad idea. I’ll text Pat (Patrick Mahomes) and coach (Andy) Reid.’
“I shot (Reid) a text, and I just was telling him, ‘I’ve been grinding, man. You know I’m hungry, and you know I want to come help y’all.“ said Hunt. “So, if y’all got a spot for me, I’ll come put in the work.’ He said he’d get back to me and ended up getting back to me one hour later. Two hours later, he told me to get ready for a flight.”
Since then, he’s been critical for the team, leading them in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns with 728 yards and seven touchdowns. Now, he has a chance to play in his first Super Bowl and bring the Chiefs their fourth in the last six seasons.
“I wake up and still sometimes can’t believe I’m here,” Hunt said. “And it’s true because I’ve always, you know, worked hard. I was in Cleveland for five years. I started off here, and I used to have dreams sometimes that I was still with the Chiefs but waking up in Cleveland, with Cleveland. It’s one of those moments you really got to let sink in, man.”
He’s found his way back from a dark past, and today, Hunt is a supportive, talented teammate on one of the greatest teams of all time. Soon, he can call himself NFL Champion and Super Bowl winner and vanquish all his demons for good.