Arrowhead Pride
We now know how the running back’s return to Kansas City was made possible.
One of the major stories surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs’ bid to be the NFL’s first “three-peat” Super Bowl Champion will be a reunion that never seemed possible.
Running back Kareem Hunt was drafted in the same 2017 class as quarterback Patrick Mahomes. After leading the league in rushing as a rookie, Hunt was released during his second season amid a domestic violence scandal.
Hunt would catch on with the Cleveland Browns — and then watch his former team win four AFC Championships and three Super Bowls during the sabbatical. Hunt was still a free agent as the 2024 season began after having offseason surgery. The catalyst for the previously considered impossible reunion was the Chiefs losing starting running back Isiah Pacheco to a broken fibula in Week 2.
Behind-the-scenes details of Hunt’s return to Kansas City — and the role of an impromptu reunion at Mahomes’ 2022 wedding — have emerged this week.
“He called me,” head coach Andy Reid recalled on Monday of Hunt rejoining the team. “He just said he wanted to be there. I knew he had changed. I spent some time with him at Pat’s wedding. He’s got a good heart. Even when he went through his day, he’s got a good heart. I had confidence that he could jump in and help us.
“I knew he wanted to redeem himself amongst the community, and I kind of get that. [I] get that part that people can change. ‘I’m changed’ is what he’s saying. So, I think that’s been a positive.”
On Thursday, Hunt confirmed that he reached out to the team following Pacheco’s injury — but did not expect to be welcomed back.
“I saw the injury, but I didn’t think anything of it,” the runner explained. “I was like, ‘Oh, it probably won’t happen.’ But the next morning, my agent’s like, ‘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 and coach Reid.’
“I shot [Reid] a text, and I just was telling him like, ‘I’ve been grinding, man. You know I’m hungry, and you know I want to come help y’all. 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 he ended up getting back to me like one hour later. Two hours later, he told me to get ready for a flight.”
On Thursday, Mahomes reflected on his friendship with Hunt, which stemmed from joining the Chiefs on the same draft weekend years ago.
“First off, with Kareem,” Mahomes remarked, “obviously, he made his mistakes, but I knew the person before — and I knew the person after. I knew that he had a good heart, and he had to learn from his mistakes and become a better person because of it....
