After losing two key players on defense during the first week of free agency, the Kansas City Chiefs officially re-signed veteran running back Kareem Hunt on Monday. Hunt was reportedly re-signed to a one-year, $1.5 million deal last week.
The veteran running back gave the Chiefs’ backfield a much-needed boost after they lost Isiah Pacheco early last season to a fractured fibula. Hunt was signed to the practice squad on Sept. 17 and promoted to the active roster one week later.
In his first game back with the Chiefs, the veteran playmaker had 69 rushing yards on 14 carries in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
The 29-year-old running back recorded 904 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns in 2024. Hunt was back at the Chiefs’ facilities on Monday to sign his contract and had a message for the fans.
“Hey Chiefs Kingdom, it’s Kareem. Just signed baby, it’s time to run it back. Let’s go.”
Kareem is staying in the Kingdom ✅ pic.twitter.com/M6CdLfbWcL
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) March 17, 2025
As you can imagine, Chiefs fans were excited to hear from Kareem and see he was back for another season.
When Pacheco went down in September, Kansas City fans wondered what the Chiefs would do to replace his production. Would the Chiefs depend on the duo of Carson Steele and Samaje Perine, or would they go outside the organization to find the solution?
They went outside the organization reuniting with Hunt, who showed for another season that he still had something left in the tank.
With Hunt back in the fold for another year, the Chiefs must figure out who will make the final 53-man roster between now and the end of August. Last week, Kansas City signed veteran running back Elijah Mitchell to a one-year deal, which looked like he was the potential Hunt replacement.
However, Mitchell will likely compete with Steele for the RB3 spot behind Hunt and Pachecol.