Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt Explains Team's Decision to Reunite with Kareem Hunt

Speaking to the media for the first time this season, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt shared his thoughts on the club signing Kareem Hunt.

Jul 22, 2024; St. Joseph, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt talks with media after training camp at Missouri Western State University. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Despite a 5-0 start to the year, the Kansas City Chiefs' 2024-25 campaign has been full of surprises thus far. Injuries have played a major role in impacting the team's personnel decisions through five games, especially on the offensive side of the ball. At the running back spot, Isiah Pacheco's broken fibula led to the shocking decision to reunite with old friend Kareem Hunt.

Prior to the move, next to no one would've been able to anticipate such a call from Kansas City. Considering how he left the organization in the first place, envisioning a second chance being given to Hunt seemed borderline impossible. That's exactly what the Chiefs extended to him, however, in the form of a one-year contract.

After video surfaced of a 2018 incident in which Hunt shoved and kicked a woman in a hallway, the former third-round pick wasn't fully transparent about it with the Chiefs. That led to his release from the team, ultimately seeing him land with the Cleveland Browns and carve out a role there for years. The stars aligned for him to get the improbable opportunity to come back to Kansas City this fall, a decision that chairman and CEO Clark Hunt presumably signed off on.

Speaking to the media this week, Hunt shared his original thoughts on the situation and added that general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid helped pave the way for this reunion.

"Going back six years ago, we were obviously very disappointed by the actions that we saw in that video and how he handled it afterwards," Hunt said. "As we talked about it as an organization here a few weeks ago, both Brett and Andy 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."

The Chiefs' owner also said he's spoken with Hunt since the signing, and the 29-year-old running back is glad to be back where it all began.

"I have, I have," Hunt said. "He expressed to me his gratitude for being back here. He knows it's a really good fit for him from a career standpoint. He knows that he left here under some difficult circumstances and is very glad to be back and getting to play for our great fans."

Kansas City clearly felt that the timing and circumstances were appropriate for Hunt to come back. Last month, Reid said it "looked like he's grown up some" since being waived back in 2018. Hunt himself admitted that he didn't think he'd end up with the Chiefs again, yet he's reiterated how fortunate he feels to be in this situation. It's hard to argue that the second act of the partnership isn't working out, as Hunt has 41 carries for 171 yards and a touchdown in two games and Reid feels comfortable rolling with the hot hand post-bye week.

It's a true, and rare, NFL redemption story that was over half a decade in the making.

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