Chiefs say Hunt has ‘grown up’ since ’18 release

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs quickly moved to release running back Kareem Hunt six years ago when video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman outside of his residence.

On Wednesday, the Chiefs welcomed Hunt back to the team, saying he had matured.

“We just thought he needed a change of scenery and get some help and take care of business there and we felt like he did that,” Reid said. “He did a nice job in Cleveland, and we talked to the people there and there were no issues there, so we felt OK by bringing him back. … It looks like he’s grown up.

“I think people deserve a second chance if they’ve done something to work on the first part of it.”

The Chiefs, after losing starting running back Isiah Pacheco to a broken fibula, signed Hunt to the practice squad on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Reid said Hunt could play in Sunday night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Patrick Mahomes said he has remained friends with Hunt; Hunt attended his wedding in Hawaii two years ago. The quarterback was one of the most outspoken Chiefs players about Hunt’s actions in the video, but he also said he was happy to see Hunt return.

“Everybody has friends that make mistakes — obviously some are bigger than others — but, at the same time, you want to make the person better,” Mahomes said. “You want to see them taking the right steps to become a better person for themselves, their family and the rest of society. And so, I think you’ve seen that with Kareem, and so I’ve stayed in touch with him just to see how he’s doing, how his family’s doing, everything like that.

“He’s been able to carve out a great career in the NFL, but I mean you’ve seen he’s been able to keep his nose clean and be a better person and that’s what you want in order to make everybody better people.”

The Chiefs selected Hunt in the third round in 2017 — the same draft in which they acquired Mahomes. Hunt had a big rookie season, rushing for a league high 1,327 yards, catching 53 passes and scoring 11 touchdowns.

He was well on his way to another 1,000-yard season in 2018 when the video surfaced. The NFL then placed Hunt on the commissioner’s exempt list and the Chiefs released Hunt, saying he had not been truthful when the team had asked him about the incident.

Hunt, 29, played the last five seasons for his hometown Browns. The most productive of those seasons came in 2020, when he rushed for 841 yards and caught 38 passes. Last season, he rushed for 411 yards and caught 15 passes.

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