Super Bowl 2025: Kareem Hunt came up big for Chiefs after wondering if his career was done

NEW ORLEANS — Kareem Hunt spent the summer and the first couple of weeks of the NFL season working out at his high school, or going to stretch and hit the sauna at the YMCA.

He was 29 years old, an advanced age at running back. In 2023 he averaged just 3 yards per carry with the Cleveland Browns, a sign that he might be done as an NFL player. He wondered if he’d get another shot as he kept working out, hoping some NFL team would call.

“I mean, I would be lying if I said those thoughts didn’t go through my head a little bit,” Hunt said Tuesday. “I just always had faith and I was like, somebody is going to need a running back here soon.”

A familiar team finally called. The Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt’s first NFL team, needed a running back after Isiah Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula. Fast forward about five months, and Hunt is playing a key role for the Chiefs as they prepare for Super Bowl LIX.

Of course, it’s impossible to discuss Hunt’s unlikely return to prominence with Kansas City without recalling why his first stint with the Chiefs ended. In 2018, Hunt was cut by Kansas City after a video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel.

There’s an alternate story to be told in which Hunt never hits a woman and stars for the Chiefs through their entire dynasty, not just contributing to it as he nears the end of his career.

“Honestly, you know, it’s like I almost should have never left,” Hunt said.

Kareem Hunt grateful for 2nd chance

Hunt knows what could have been. At Super Bowl media availability on Tuesday he was asked how he felt watching the Chiefs win three Super Bowls since they cut him.

“I was hurt about it, honestly,” Hunt said.

Back in 2018 the Chiefs said they cut Hunt because he wasn’t truthful with them about what happened in that Cleveland hotel. A season before, Hunt had led the NFL in rushing as a rookie and was having another good season when the Chiefs dropped him.

“It changed me,” Hunt said. “I was at the top. I led the league in rushing, did a whole bunch of stuff and everything was going good, and then to get knocked back down to the bottom where it all started. You have to find a way to rebuild it back up to the top.”

Hunt was signed by the Cleveland Browns, and while he was productive at times behind Nick Chubb he never posted another 1,000-yard season. His contract expired after 2023 and nobody signed him. The Chiefs needed some help at running back and decided to bring back a player they’d cut amid controversy.

“Going back six years ago, we were obviously very disappointed by the actions that we saw in that video and how he handled it afterward, as we talked about it as an organization here a few weeks ago,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in October. “Both Brett [Veach] and Andy [Reid] expressed to me that they felt confident that he had matured from that, that he had learned from the mistake [and] gotten the help he needed. As a result, we felt comfortable bringing him back.”

Hunt said the incident that led to his release from the Chiefs in 2018 was a mistake and “it shouldn’t have happened.” Hunt won’t get sympathy from many who watched the video. But he’s happy he got to continue his career and made it back to the Chiefs. He’ll play in his first Super Bowl on Sunday.

“I’m grateful to have a second chance,” Hunt said. “Redemption means to me, I’ve got to make the most of it now.”

Hunt emerges as key player

The Chiefs couldn’t have realized in September how much they’d need Hunt all season. Or that Hunt could even handle playing into the postseason after being unsigned all offseason.

Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula in Week 2 and missed more than two months. When Pacheco came back, he wasn’t the same effective featured back he had been. In his five regular-season games back from injury, Pacheco had just 175 yards on 49 carries, a 3.6-yard average. He didn’t break double digits in touches in either of his final two regular-season games.

So when the Chiefs got to the playoffs, Hunt still led the backfield. And he has produced. Hunt has a rushing touchdown in four straight games, including playoffs. He had 64 yards on 17 carries in the AFC championship game, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he maintains that same backfield share for Super Bowl LIX.

A few months ago, Hunt was a free agent, unsigned through the offseason and the first two weeks of the season. On Sunday, he’ll be a key piece to the Chiefs’ hopes at winning their third Super Bowl championship in a row. If it wasn’t for Pacheco’s injury, Hunt might not have played at all this season.

“I was just trying to stay in shape, but I didn’t know if the opportunity was going to come or not,” Hunt said.

Hunt hasn’t had a huge season at age 29, but he’s been Kansas City’s best option for the most part. Hunt had 728 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 200 regular-season carries and another 108 yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs.

It’s one of the more unlikely stories of Super Bowl LIX, for many reasons.

“I’m just grateful to be able to come back where it all started and hopefully finish it out and do the unthinkable and three-peat,” Hunt said.