Kareem Hunt Top Landing Spots: 2025 NFL Free Agency Outlook

Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt had a decent season filling in for the injured Isiah Pacheco and later serving in a committee with him when he returned from his broken fibula. He was technically signed "off the street" as he wasn't even in the NFL when the Chiefs reached out to him for help, so his performance, while mediocre, is somewhat admirable for that.

Maybe he could have a better year in 2025 if he starts the season on a team, or perhaps a similar situation will occur, where a team will sign him after an injury shakes up their backfield. Either way, while he isn't the hottest free-agent commodity, and his market is in fact quite cold, he still has some gas left in the tank for another season or two of serviceable performances, on the right team.

There are still a number of teams that are good landing spots for running backs and don't have clear answers at both their RB1 and RB2 positions yet. For them, signing Hunt would make sense if they don't choose to invest premium draft capital (RB-wise) in the 2025 NFL Draft. Thus, it's reasonable to think that some teams are considering signing Hunt. So let's break down the best landing spots for him ahead of the 2025 NFL season.

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Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers recently signed former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris to a one-year, $5.25 million contract. He's likely not their preferred long-term answer at the position, but he's a power-runner that isn't often injured and has a blue-collar mentality that the team likes. His skillset meshes well with offensive coordinator Greg Roman's power-run offense.

Obviously you’re entitled to your opinion on Najee Harris but the numbers don’t lie.

The man showed up to work.

Best wishes to him moving forward. pic.twitter.com/1MfZnXQRO8

— Obviously (Not) Tomlin (@Tomlin_Sense) March 11, 2025

Hunt has also been durable the last three seasons, and has a similar running style and skillset that Harris does. Perhaps a committee is the best thing we could hope for for Hunt, but if Harris were to get injured, there wouldn't be anyone else in this backfield to compete with him for touches, at least that's what I think. RB Kimani Vidal, who the team drafted in 2024, didn't impress in his rookie season, and former backup back Gus Edwards was let go by the team, mostly due to poor performance.

Greg Roman saw this and thought “run it 3 times in a row” on the next drive pic.twitter.com/RyY7m8fm1V

— jules 🫵🏼 (@nfljules) January 5, 2025

Hunt's best situation is an offense that prefers to run the ball heavily, has a better-than-league-average defense at least, and simply pounds the rock. Hunt would be mindlessly pounded up the middle by Roman over and over again if he ever got the nod to start, and could get solid goal-line volume there as well. He has a similar athletic profile and running style as Harris, but Roman would likely be a fan of that.

And considering the lack of answers at the wide receiver position and Roman's history as an OC, it's hard to see this team straying away from their run-first philosophy.

Pittsburgh Steelers

In the same vein as above, the Steelers are one of the most run-happy teams in the league. Nearly half their plays are runs, and they just let the aforementioned Harris go. It seems increasingly likely that Pittsburgh will opt to select a running back with an early pick in the 2025 NFL Draft (I'm calling that they draft Kaleb Johnson, calling it right now), but if they don't, Hunt would be in a great place.

Arthur Smith's 2nd half game plan was simple:

Run the damn ball. @AtlantaFalcons pic.twitter.com/ktfCIpj0g6

— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) October 4, 2022

Smith's philosophy has never wavered since he's been in the league. No matter the success rate, abysmal efficiency, or score of the game, Smith prefers to run as much as humanly possible. He's probably deeply unhappy that he doesn't live in a world where offenses can get away with passing the ball 10 or fewer times per game.

Now this gets interesting.

Per @JustinM_NFL, the #Steelers are planning to host Kansas State running back, D.J Giddens at their facilities for a top-30 visit.

Giddens was a standout at this year's NFL Combine, in which he already had a formal interview with the team. pic.twitter.com/7dn8i7jLdi

— Steelers Black and Gold Nation - NFL Draft Szn (@B_GNation1) March 12, 2025

The team could also draft a running back later in the draft. If that rookie needed time to develop, it wouldn't make much sense to try to run him out with RB Jaylen Warren, who was assigned a second-round tender and will stay with the team. Perhaps the team plans to sign a veteran to lead the backfield with Warren in the wings, let go of both players after the 2025 season, then sign someone else to serve in an awful committee with the rookie thereafter.

The quarterback situation has yet to be figured out. And if the Steelers don't sign a good passer, or get a washed player like former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Smith could be forced into calling even more run plays. Hunt is capable of handling a workhorse amount of volume if needed, and is one of the league's traditional smash-mouth, ground-and-pound, old-school, straight-up-the-middle backs. He'd be a good fit for the Steelers philosophy and brand of football, which emphasizes toughness.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings beefed up their offensive line this offseason, despite it already being one of the best units in the league last year until elite left tackle Christian Darrisaw got injured and missed the rest of the season. Minnesota now has the most expensive OL in the league, thanks in part to them letting go of Sam Darnold and having a starting (presumably) quarterback on a rookie contract.

Large Fries please! 🍟

The #Vikings have agreed to terms with G @willfries55. https://t.co/tbzozPFxON pic.twitter.com/cId90tmBpK

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) March 12, 2025

They signed offensive guard Will Fries to a five-year, $88 million contract. Fries previously played for the Indianapolis Colts, and in 2024, he was the fourth-highest rated guard by Pro Football Focus in the NFL. They also signed center Ryan Kelly to a two-year, $18 million deal. Kelly was less successful last season, but battled through a number of injuries, and is an excellent player.

The Vikings new OL is looking DANGEROUS 😤

LT Christian Darrisaw (best tackle in NFL)
LG Blake Brandel (sneaky good guard)
C Ryan Kelly (four-time Pro Bowler)
RG Will Fries (top free agent guard)
RT Brian O'Neill (two-time Pro Bowler) pic.twitter.com/whJjeqmoNa

— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) March 11, 2025

Minnesota is absolutely stacked in the offensive trenches now. Were Hunt to sign here, he'd likely have the best run-blocking, and easily the best offensive schemes, at any point in his career. And he'd be on the best offense by a wide margin -- the Chiefs weren't great on offense last season, and haven't been ever since tight end Travis Kelce's play started to decline.

Hunt would serve behind starting running back Aaron Jones. While Jones is the clear RB1, and that won't change, as he was re-signed to a two-year, $20 million contract, Hunt would likely get chances to play, as Jones is one of the more injury-prone RBs in the NFL. He's struggled with quite a few aliments.

Injury histories for Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, and J.K. Dobbins (number of injuries and locations, not always complete charts, but pulled from DraftSharks). I have some theories as to how players continually injure the same leg again and again. pic.twitter.com/8Xv5Gbl1aD

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 7, 2025

Jones has suffered a number of injuries to his left leg, and it continues to give him problems every season. Perhaps the Vikings would look to reduce his workload if they had a competent pass-protector and a good power-runner in a player like Hunt. RB Ty Chandler, who served as Jones' backup in 2024, was one of the worst pass-pro running backs in the league, and the team prefers to use him mostly as a kick returner, anyway.

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