Andy Reid Says The Chiefs Won't Try To Bring Kareem Hunt Back, But They Should

The day was September 7, 2017. I was a senior in high school at the time, and that night, I wasn’t thinking about school the next day.

I was thinking about the New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs game later that night - and I was going there.

How could I not? The Patriots were going to unveil their fifth Super Bowl banner before the game. Gillette stadium was going to be bumping with excitement. Plus, the Patriots had only lost one home game I went to at that point (I’m not saying I was the good luck charm for them in those games, but I definitely was). I was feeling great about our chances of winning.

But gosh darn it, the Chiefs did. And it wasn’t thanks to Patrick Mahomes (he was still a backup at that point). Neither Travis Kelce or Tyreek Hill primarily broke my hearts that night either.

Some rookie running back named Kareem Hunt tallied 246 yards of offense by himself, scored three touchdowns, and led the Chiefs to a 42-27 win. My night, heck, my entire weekend, was ruined in large part because of some rookie from the University of Toledo.

I thought to myself, "This kid is going to be special! He’s a solid pass catcher and runner, he’ll be great for KC."

And he was - for about a season and a half. That’s when he got into off-the field issues.

Kareem Hunt Was Cut For Committing Domestic Violence 

On November 30th, 2018, the NFL suspended Hunt after video surfaced of him pushing a woman down and then kicking her. The Chiefs proceeded to cut him after the NFL’s action, and his career vaporized in a flash.

"I want to apologize for my actions," he said. "I deeply regret what I did. I hope to move on from this."

Hunt would move on from it, and get a second chance with the Cleveland Browns. He never quite replicated his early success with Kansas City, but he did put up a respectable five years on a team that was incredibly inconsistent overall on offense.

The best part is, he stayed out of trouble on the field after his massive failure in 2018.

But now, Hunt is looking for another team thanks to being cut by the Brownies. And wouldn’t ya know it, his first team has a need at running back after losing Isaiah Pacheco to injury yesterday.

But should the Chiefs do it?

The Chiefs Should Bring Hunt Back Into The Fold

The short answer is, it makes sense too. But Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said the plan is top stick with the guys they have on the roster.

While this certainly would be easy, it also rules out bringing in a guy with a lot of upside. Hunt accounted for 60 percent of Cleveland’s rushing touchdowns last year, and he is known for excelling in short-yardage situations. I personally think he’s a better option than anyone on the Chiefs roster or IR.

Yes, there is always the fear that he could run into another domestic violence issue. If you do something like that once, there’s always good reason to suspect you could do it again.

However, it has been six years since that happened, and Hunt has stayed clean of off-the-field issues. Plus, the Chiefs are the last team in the NFL to say they won’t hire a certain player based on past troubles. After all, they kept Rashee Rice on their active roster, even though his rap sheet is as long as a football field, and they kept Tyreek Hill despite his own extensive off-the-field problems.

So in all reality, it makes sense for the Chiefs to get Hunt back on their team so he can potentially provide a spark in their backfield. He's definitely still got some juice in the tank.

I’ll just personally hope that Hunt’s resurgence doesn’t involve decimating my Patriots ever again. I’m all set with one of those instances.