Kansas City Chiefs Sign Former Rushing Champion To Help Patrick Mahomes & Their Offense

Kansas City Chiefs helmet (Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
Two days after free agency officially opened, running back Kareem Hunt has decided to the Kansas City Chiefs.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Chiefs have re-signed Kareem Hunt to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million. The deal includes incentives for the 2017 rushing champion.

Hunt spent five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, primarily as Nick Chubb’s understudy, before returning to the Chiefs last year. The 2017 Pro Bowler rushed for 728 yards and seven touchdowns, finishing the season as Kansas City’s lead rusher as RB1 Isiah Pacheco missed most of the year recovering from a fractured fibula.

The Chiefs drafted Hunt in the third round (86th overall), the same year they traded up for Patrick Mahomes. As a rookie, Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards and tallied 1,782 yards of offense with 11 total touchdowns.

Kareem Hunt was released by Kansas City on Nov. 30, 2018, after a disturbing video emerged of him kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel in February earlier that year. Damien Williams finished the year as KC’s lead running back.

The Browns signed Hunt following his release and paired him with Chubb. The former had his best season with the Browns in 2020, rushing for 81 yards and six touchdowns as the team ended an 18-year postseason drought. Hunt also helped the Browns defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round for the franchise’s first playoff victory in 26 years.

In five years with the Browns, Hunt tallied 2,285 rushing yards 25 rushing touchdowns.

Kareem Hunt Will Likely Back Up Isiah Pacheco Again

Kareem Hunt (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Pacheco was the Chiefs’ main running back in 2022 and 2023 and played a pivotal role in their back-to-back Super Bowl championship triumphs. Given that he’s younger and more experienced in the Andy Reid offense, Hunt will likely be used as KC’s No. 2 RB in 2025.