With Isiah Pacheco suffering a leg injury that required surgery, the Kansas City Chiefs turned to an old friend to help fill the void while the running back recovers.
They brought back Kareem Hunt, who took the NFL by storm as a rookie with the Chiefs back in 2017, and he’s set to play against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he is impressed with how Hunt has looked “flying around” during practice.
“He looks like Kareem Hunt. It’s exciting,” Kelce said, via Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports.
Hunt, a third-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, exploded onto the scene and led the league with 1,327 rushing yards while scoring eight rushing touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns and making the Pro Bowl as a rookie.
But he was never able to duplicate that type of production, and during the 2018 season, the Chiefs cut him after a video of him allegedly getting physical with a woman surfaced.
He caught on with the Cleveland Browns, where he played the past five seasons mainly as a backup behind Nick Chubb.
The Chiefs are 3-0 and may be the only constant in what has been an unpredictable 2024 NFL season thus far, and while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has thrown four interceptions, second-year wide receiver Rashee Rice is looking like a legitimate star.
Rice has 24 receptions for 288 yards and two touchdowns through three games and ranks fourth in the league in receiving yards.
But Kansas City will need enough of a ground game while Pacheco is out in order to remain at or near the top of the AFC standings.