Kansas City Chiefs fans were crushed to hear that Isiah Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula against the Bengals. Pacheco will have surgery and miss at least six weeks while he recovers. Thankfully, the Chiefs are reuniting with one running back who should help mitigate Pacheco's injury.
The Chiefs are signing their former running back Kareem Hunt, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. Hunt will join Kansas City's practice squad, with the expectation that he will eventually be elevated to the 53-man roster once he is ready.
The Chiefs did not waste much time finding a replacement. News broke on Monday that Kansas City was inviting Hunt on a visit for Tuesday. Kansas City didn't let him leave the building without getting a deal done.
Kareem Hunt burst onto the scene in 2017 with a hugely impressive rookie season. Hunt logged 1,327 rushing yards and eight touchdowns at 4.9 yards per carry during his rookie campaign. He also added 455 receiving yards and three touchdowns through the air.
Hunt saw his production skew more towards his receiving skills during his sophomore season. In 2018, the Chiefs gave Hunt nearly 100 fewer carries, but he was still able to manage 824 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Meanwhile, he added 378 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the air.
Kareem Hunt has never matched this level of production after leaving the Chiefs due to an off-the-field scandal. It remains to be seen if he can reach those heights again in his second stint in Kansas City.
How will Kareem Hunt fit into the Chiefs plans at running back?
All of this begs to question: how does Kareem Hunt factor into Kansas City's plans at running back moving forward?
The Chiefs do not have many options at running back at the moment. Carson Steele should be the main early-down option with Samaje Perine taking over as their main third-down back. That is the extent of their depth for now, as Clyde Edwards-Helaire is currently banged up and Pacheco is of course on IR.
Therefore, it seems fair to say that Kareem Hunt will have an opportunity to have an impact very soon.
However, Hunt will have to get acclimated first and earn his way onto the roster.
Chiefs fans should not expect to see Hunt on the field in Week 3, though it is technically possible. Instead, Hunt is most likely to learn the playbook and get conditioned over a week or two before stepping into live action.
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