Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City’s running back room is about to get deeper.
On a day with plenty of good news on the Kansas City Chiefs’ first injury report of the week, one detail will likely fly under the radar.
For the first time in almost a month, running back Kareem Hunt was not listed as a limited participant in the team’s initial practice. The veteran started each of the past three weeks with the designation for a variety of injuries. Hunt was noted as a full participant with a knee ailment.
Speaking before Wednesday’s practice, Hunt appeared unconcerned with an increasingly heavy workload since rejoining the Chiefs earlier this season.
“Honestly, I just take it day by day,” he explained. “At this point of the season, I don’t think really anybody’s feeling great or at their best, but I have to stay on top of it — stay in the training room, get in rehab and stay on it.”
At least once a game, Hunt seems to momentarily cause a scare by needing help to get off the field after a run. However, his running style rarely looked easy on the body even as a younger player.
“[I] definitely feel the soreness,” Hunt acknowledged, “but [with] the way I play — I’m physical guy — I always get sore after games and stuff like that. So, I don’t feel like because it’s old or anything,”
On Wednesday, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid proposed that one of the best ways to preserve Hunt’s body may be to get him involved in the passing game, rather than continuous rushes up the middle. Hunt’s seven receptions for 65 yards against the Denver Broncos on Sunday easily marked his most prolific receiving performance in his second stint in Kansas City.
The coach also denies that Hunt would even be interested in a reduced workload.
“We threw him the ball a little bit more this past week,” Reid recalled. “[The Broncos] were doing a good job inside just kind of shutting off the run game part of it. So, we ended up getting him the ball; we would like to get him the ball whatever way we can get him the ball. He’s a good player. He’s doing well for just coming off the couch.
“He’s like second in the league for the number of games he’s played on carries and in the yardage. So, he’s doing a heck of a job, and he wants more. He’s not asking to come out now. That’s not quite how he’s wired, but he’s doing well.”
Hunt agrees and relishes the opportunity to play in space against smaller defenders.
“They did a great job of trying to contain the run,” he said of the Broncos. “Just getting the ball out in space makes my job a little easier having those guys try to tackle me then.”
Regardless of how Hunt is wired, a reduced workload likely is coming soon. Starting running back Isiah Pacheco — who suffered a broken fibula...
