The Kansas City Chiefs‘ running back situation is gearing up to look substantially different than it did in 2025.
With the additions of reigning Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III, free agent Emari Demercado and rookie fifth round pick Emmett Johnson, it is likely that 2025 seventh round pick Brashard Smith will be the only holdover from the position from last season.
Kareem Hunt, Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire all no longer feature on Kansas City’s roster, but only one of them – Pacheco – found a new home in the Detroit Lions.
However, according to reporting on Aug. 25 by Adam Schefter, Pacheco could be joined by one of his former teammates after Kareem Hunt worked out with the team on Tuesday.
“Free-agent RB Kareem Hunt visited today with the Detroit Lions.” Schefter wrote on X.
Kareem Hunt Could be Reunited with Isiah Pacheco
After a blistering start to his career as a third round rookie in 2017, where the Toledo product racked up 1,327 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns to lead the league in rushing in his very first season as a pro, Hunt’s once promising career began to unravel.
The Ohio native was once again on track for a 1,000 + yard rushing season, having garnered 824 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns in just 11 games in 2018. But a video surfacing that appeared to show Hunt engaging in domestic violence resulted in the Chiefs releasing him before the Cleveland Browns picked him up in February 2019.
Hunt’s play never quite recovered, although he did form an excellent tandem with All-Pro Nick Chubb in 2020, where the pair combined for over 1,900 rushing yards on the season – with Hunt contributing a solid 841.
The now-31-year old eventually found his way back to KC in 2024 and posted two fairly strong seasons in 2024 and 2025. His first season he took over for an injured Isiah Pacheco, and in his second he took over for a benched Pacheco.
The Lions have been looking for some more metal to sturdy up what is a fairly thin RB group behind consensus no. 1 fantasy football draft pick Jahmyr Gibbs, who is set to be the bell-cow back on Detroit’s offense.
Indeed, what better move could the Lions make than add the back that ended up outperforming Pacheco towards the end of last season – even if Hunt is half a decade older than the former seventh round pick.
Despite the presence of 2024 fourth round pick Sione Vaki, Hunt would immediately come in and take the RB3 spot in Detroit, and could ultimately end up finding a way to compete with Pacheco for touches as the relief back.
If Hunt ends up passing on – or being passed on by the Lions, then yet another return to the Chiefs is also not out of the realm of possibility.
Demercado did not vigorously impress during his brief time as starter with the Cardinals last season, and although he averaged a very high 7.1 yards per carry in 2025 (312 yards on 44 carries), that number is skewed by a 72-yard run that saw him drop the ball on the goal line.
And whilst Smith and Johnson are both young and talented, if they experience growing pains as young players coming out the gate, Hunt could provide some much-needed veteran experience in the room behind Walker.
Ex-Chiefs Kareem Hunt Works Out With ex-Teammate’s NFC Franchise