Browns running back has returned to where he began
If what goes around comes around, then Kareem Hunt is home.
The former Cleveland Browns running back is not only back in the NFL, but is returning to where he began his professional football career after signing a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs on Tuesday to become a practice squad member.
Hunt, age 29, was with the Browns for the past five seasons in a dual role with RB Nick Chubb.
RELATED: HUNT HAS VISIT WITH THE CHIEFS
He came into the league in 2017 after being taken in the third round by the Chiefs after a sterling career at the University of Toledo. In his sophomore year, he rushed for 1,631 yards with 16 touchdowns and 1,475 yards in his senior season with 10 scores.
As a rookie, he stunned the league by rushing for 1,327 yards on 272 carries and scored 11 touchdowns, three on the receiving end. That season netted him a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team, a Pro Bowl nod, and was the league rushing yards leader.
In his second season, after Week 11 he was again leading the NFL in rushing yards. Word came down about Hunt in a domestic violence situation, and Kansas City was on standby in an effort to understand what happened.
At first, Hunt denied the allegations, and the Chiefs not only believed him but stuck by his story. Then the video was released by TMZ. It was revealed that Hunt lied about what happened which the video footage demonstrated. On November 30, 2018, the Chiefs released him although he was never charged with any act. The alleged victim never cooperated with authorities.
Hunt was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list after that, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2018 season.
John Dorsey had been the Chiefs’ GM and had drafted Hunt. When Dorsey took the same position with Cleveland, he reached out to Hunt and signed him to a contract. The NFL stepped in and assessed Hunt with an eight-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. In October, he began to practice with his new team and was reinstated for the Week 10 contest against the Buffalo Bills.
Hunt’s career in Cleveland had its ups and downs, but he never regained that elite status he enjoyed in Kansas City. He did rush for 841 yards in 2020, but playing second fiddle to Chubb kept his numbers down each season. He is a very good receiver and has been very productive in this department. With the Browns he had 226 catches for 1,890 yards with 95 first downs converted and 17 touchdowns through the air.
In Week 2 last year, Chubb went down with a season-ending knee injury to which the Browns then reached out and re-signed him. In 2023, he had 135 rushes for 411 yards with nine rushing touchdowns and five receiving scores.
Like the Browns last year, the Chiefs main running back, Isiah Pacheco, went down this past weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals with a fractured right fibula. He was placed on IR on Monday and expected to miss a minimum of two months.
The Chiefs now have their primary backup RB Carson Steele as their starter with Samaje Perine as backup. Kansas City is signing Keaontay Ingram off their practice squad and will have Emani Bailey still on the reserve unit that now has Hunt added to the mix.
There will be another change for Hunt as well: CB Chamarri Conner wears Hunt’s #27.
Hunt has landed in a great place. Not only are the Chiefs 2-0-0 this season, but have captured two consecutive Super Bowls and are vying to tie the Green Bay Packers for three NFL titles in a row. The Packers won the league from 1929-1931 and also from 1965-1967.