KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kareem Hunt never expected to walk through the doors of the Kansas City Chiefs practice facility again.
So when their erstwhile star running back did last week, what struck Hunt first was even more unexpected.
“Honestly, my first thought was the building smelled the same,” he said Wednesday. “Brought back so many memories.”
Mostly good. Some bad, including the way things ended six years ago.
Hunt had become one of the NFL’s premier players by his second season in the league, and was helping a team led for the first time by Patrick Mahomes in pursuit of the playoffs. But in late November, video surfaced that showed Hunt kicking a woman in the hall of a Cleveland hotel, and while no charges were filed when she stopped cooperating with authorities, the Chiefs swiftly and decisively released him, putting Hunt’s future as a professional football player in peril.
“I was very young at the time — 23 — and had a lot of success going for me, and felt like I needed time to figure myself out,” said Hunt, who was signed by Kansas City last week when Isiah Pacheco was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
“I felt like it was good for me to do that,” he added. “I guess it worked out.”
Hunt ultimately signed with the Browns, served an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal-conduct policy, and became an important part of their backfield. He ran for 2,285 yards and five touchdowns over five years.
After he was hampered for much of last season by a sports hernia, Hunt opted for offseason surgery. He didn’t sign with a team during the summer or training camp, so when the Chiefs lost their second running back — Clyde Edwards-Helaire already was on the non-football illness list — they flew Hunt into town and gave him a chance to prove he still had it.
“You can see how hungry he is,” said Mahomes, who remained close to Hunt even after his release by Kansas City. “You come in and you haven’t had training camp and stuff like that, but he pushed through. He took last week like a mini training camp.”
Hunt spent last week working with the scout team ahead of their game Sunday night in Atlanta, when they held on in the final minute for a 22-17 victory. That left them 3-0 as they prepare to visit the Los Angeles Chargers this weekend.
While the Chiefs have been happy with the production of Carson Steele, an undrafted rookie, and journeyman Samaje Perine, they also wanted some experienced depth. Hunt checked that box. And the fact that he already was familiar with some of the playbook, and its complex terminology, allowed Hunt to get up to speed more quickly than most.
“Looks like he’s in pretty good shape, so now the next step is getting him into the game. He’ll rotate in and we’ll see how he does,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We have three good running backs and we’ll just get him back in the swing of things.”
The Chiefs are averaging just 4.1 yards per carry, putting them in the bottom half of the league this season.
It’s unclear exactly how much Hunt will be able to help the cause. While he is still just 29 years old, the former Toledo star dealt with a series of injuries while he was in Cleveland, and the reality is that he has not played much in the past year.
But he also has something to prove. He watched as the Chiefs morphed into a dynasty after he was let go, with Reid calling the plays and Mahomes under center. They have won three Super Bowls in the past five years, including the last two, and they have a chance to make NFL history by becoming the first team to win three straight Lombardi Trophies this year.
Hunt wants to be a part of that. And along the way, prove he has grown and matured since his last time with Kansas City.
“That’s been my goal,” he said. “Any player who steps on a football field wants to get a championship ring. It would be a dream come true for me, ever since I was a little kid. I couldn’t be more excited to help these guys defend their title, to come back here and see all these familiar faces again.”
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