The Kansas City Chiefs‘ 3-0 start to the 2024 NFL season isn’t enough for Andy Reid to pretend like everything is okay. The head coach believes Patrick Mahomes and company can still do better, which is why the roster moves aren’t stopping.
Not only did Reid confirm a mejor decision on the Chiefs’ starting lineup by claiming Wanya Morris will continue at left tackle, but the head coach is also making changes in the running back room.
On Tuesday, Field Yates of ESPN reported the Chiefs signed Kareem Hunt to their 53-man roster and waived Keaontay Ingram. Hunt’s promotion was highly anticipated by fans since the player returned to Kansas City last week.
Hunt, 29, initially joined the Chiefs’ practice squad but Reid immediately suggested he’d count on the running back soon. It didn’t take long, and now Mahomes is set to have a new weapon for Week 4.
Kareem Hunt #27 of the Kansas City Chiefs takes a hand off from Patrick Mahomes #15 in their own end zone during the second quarter of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Arrowhead Stadium on October 7, 2018 in Kansas City, Missouri.
On Sunday, the 3-0 Chiefs will travel to Los Angeles to play divisional rivals Chargers, who are 2-1 through the first three weeks of the 2024 NFL season. Will Mahomes and Hunt quickly rediscover their old connection?
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Hunt’s return to the Chiefs and his recent addition to the 53-man roster confirms Mahomes’ reunion with a familiar face. Both players were drafted by Kansas City in 2017 and went on to play together until November 2018, when the running back was cut after a video of him assaulting a woman surfaced.
Hunt was the team’s primary running back by then, whereas Mahomes was in his first year as starter. Eventually, the Chiefs went on to win three Super Bowls, with Hunt watching all their success from afar.
“It was hard, but I had to think about the positive things,” Hunt said about it, via Sports Illustrated. “I was so excited for coach Reid to win multiple Super Bowls, I wanted to be the guy to help him do that too. I’ve still got a lot of close friends on this team, and I couldn’t be more excited for them to see them achieve their goals.”
Hunt feels ready to contribute to Chiefs
After all the controversy surrounding his release, Hunt landed in Cleveland, where he played for the Browns from 2019 to 2023. He failed to find a team for the start of the 2024 season, but Isiah Pacheco’s fractured fibula in Week 2 suddenly opened the Chiefs’ doors.
Kareem Hunt in action with the Cleveland Browns during the 2019 NFL season.
Six years after the incident that led to his exit, the Chiefs considered it was all water under the bridge. Reid and Mahomes strongly defended Kansas City’s decision, as they believe Hunt grew as a person during this time and that he deserved a second chance. Needless to say, the player is grateful about this opportunity.
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“I was very young at that time, 23, and had a lot of success going for me,” said Hunt. “I felt like I needed time to figure myself out and learn. I feel like it was good for me to do that. I had the opportunity to go to the (Cleveland) Browns and stuff, and that’s my hometown, so I guess it worked out.”
