Kareem Hunt Dishes on Injury Status as Chiefs Start SB Practice

The Kansas City Chiefs have to be glad they brought Kareem Hunt back this season. Signed in the wake of Isiah Pacheco’s fractured fibula in September, Hunt has become a grinder for the Chiefs' backfield and has scored in both playoff games on their run to the Super Bowl.

But like any running back at this point of the season, Hunt is heading into the Feb. 9 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles banged up. The 29-year-old will be one of several players to watch as the Chiefs aim for their third straight championship and he gave a glimpse into his status as Kansas City began practice this week.

Kareem Hunt Says He Feels Healthy Heading Into Super Bowl LIX

Hunt hasn’t been listed on the injury report this season but his status warrants monitoring after his biggest workload since his rookie season in 2017. While he admitted he is a little banged up, he said he feels the same as most players on the roster and should be good to go when the Super Bowl kicks off.

“I feel healthy,” Hunt told Charles Goldman of A to Z Sports on Tuesday. “Right now, everybody is pretty beat up. …We’ve got two weeks, I feel like I’m going to be feeling great again.”

Hunt has exceeded expectations in his second tour with Kansas City. A third-round draft pick by the Chiefs in the 2017 draft, Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 yards in his rookie season but was released the following season after video of him kicking a woman surfaced on social media.

Hunt spent the next five seasons with the Cleveland Browns but was out of football before returning to the Chiefs in September. The reunion has worked for both sides as Hunt ran for 728 yards and seven touchdowns during the regular season and 108 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs’ playoff wins over the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.

Hunt's presence has helped the Chiefs as Pacheco has been slow to regain his form with a career-low 3.7 yards per carry this season. But Hunt’s workload is a concern as his 225 combined carries are his most since toting the ball 198 times for the Browns in 2020 and approaching his career high of 272 carries in his rookie season.

Going up against an Eagles defense that ranks 9th in the NFL with 4.3 yards allowed per carry, it will be imperative that the Chiefs have Hunt and the rest of their roster healthy come Super Bowl Sunday.

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