KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs are signing Kareem Hunt to their practice squad, reuniting with a running back who first achieved stardom with them before video of him assaulting a woman led to his release, a person familiar with their decision told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the team had not yet announced the move.
The Chiefs brought Hunt in for a workout after Isiah Pacheco, their top running back, sustained a right ankle injury in Sunday's win over Cincinnati that could keep him out the majority of the season. They also have Clyde Edwards-Helaire on the non-football illness list for at least two more games, leaving them short-handed at the position heading to Atlanta this weekend.
Undrafted rookie Carson Steele and journeyman Samaje Perine are expected to get the majority of snaps, though the Chiefs also have Keaontay Ingram and Emani Bailey that they could promote from the practice squad to provide some depth.
That is where Hunt is likely to reside for at least a couple of weeks, until he learns enough of the playbook to contribute.
The Chiefs drafted him in the third round in 2017 out of Toledo, and he immediately made an impact, running for a league-high 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie. He came back the following season, the first with Patrick Mahomes as the starter at quarterback, and ran for 824 yards and seven touchdowns through the first 11 games.
In late November, video surfaced that showed Hunt shoving a woman to the ground and kicking her in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel. The Chiefs released him, though no charges were filed when the woman stopped cooperating with authorities.
The Browns signed him in February, and Hunt served an eight-game suspension at the start of the 2018 season for violating the NFL's personal-conduct policy. He went on to run for for 179 yards and two touchdowns and caught 37 passes for 285 yards and another score, earning a two-year, $13.25 million contract extension to remain a part of the Cleveland backfield.
Hunt missed part of the 2021 season with a calf injury and fell behind Nick Chubb and Jerome Ford in the rotation, and he did not re-sign with Cleveland after last season. He wound up spending five years there, running for 2,285 yards and five TDs.
The Chiefs are chasing a record third consecutive Super Bowl title this season. They opened with a 27-20 win over Baltimore that came down to an incompletion by the Ravens in the end zone on the final play of the game. Then on Sunday, they rallied to beat the Bengals 26-25 when Harrison Butker kicked a 51-yard field goal with no time left.
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Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco, right, runs with the ball as Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (57) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid talks to the media after an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs won 26-25. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
FILE - Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt (27) scores a touchdown ahead of Los Angeles Rams free safety Lamarcus Joyner (20) as Chiefs offensive guard Cameron Erving (75) looks on during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Manchester City’s stunning slump continued Saturday with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers at Villa Park consigned the four-time defending champion to a ninth defeat in 12 games in a season that is unravelling. Pep Guardiola’s team has won just once during that run.
“We have to stay positive, even though it’s difficult, and we have to keep working hard,” City striker Erling Haaland said.
Phil Foden pulled a goal back for City in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to spark a late comeback.
City dropped to sixth in the standings — nine points below leader Liverpool, having played two games more. Villa climbed to fifth.
City’s remarkable fall shows little sign of stopping, with Guardiola admitting last week that he had not been good enough to turn his team’s form around.
Defeat meant the once-dominant City is without a win in any of its last eight away games in all competitions. While it looks unlikely to win a fifth-straight title, a place in the top four and Champions League qualification could also be in jeopardy.
“We concede the goals we don’t concede in the past, we (don’t) score the goals we score in the past,” Guardiola said. “We have to think positive and I have incredible trust in the guys. Some of them have incredible pride and desire to do it. We have to find a way, step by step, sooner or later to find a way back.”
Only once under Guardiola has City managed to win the title when losing six times in the league. That was in the 2020-21 campaign, when it lost two of its last three games, having already been confirmed champion.
City lost nine times when Liverpool won the title in '19-20, but its sixth defeat didn't come until the February of that campaign. Guardiola also lost six times in the league in his first season in English soccer in '16-17 and City finished third in the standings.
The latest defeat could have been even more emphatic against a dominant Villa. Duran scored his sixth goal in as many starts in the 16th minute from Rogers’ assist.
Duran had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half and Rogers hit the post before doubling Villa’s lead in the 65th.
Foden's goal in the third minute of added time came too late for City.
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, center, and players leave the field at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Aston Villa's Jhon Duran celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Manchester City's Phil Foden reacts after Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers scoring his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Aston Villa and Manchester City, at Villa Park in Birmingham, England, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
