It's hard to describe an undefeated season as "cursed", but there's definitely something abnormal and even eerie about the number of significant injuries suffered by the Kansas City Chiefs so far this season—especially on the offensive side of the ball.
On Wednesday, the list got a little longer with the addition of running back Kareem Hunt to the team's injury report.
The Chiefs are currently preparing to take on the Las Vegas Raiders while taking a road trip to Sin City and the inability of Hunt to practice in full is bad news for a team that's already so limited in other aspects of the offensive game plan.
Don't look now but another high-usage player is a bit sidelined on offense for the Chiefs.
Hunt's very presence on the Chiefs active roster is in response to a major need at running back from when Clyde Edwards-Helaire was on the team's non-football injury (NFI) list and lead back Isiah Pacheco suffered a fractured leg in Week 2. After Pacheco went on IR, the Chiefs decided it was time to reunite with Hunt, who has become a central cog in the team's offensive attack over the last few games.
The rushing attack itself has been front and centern after the passing game became so stymied by the number of injuries there. Hollywood Brown was signed to be the team's volume target at wideout only to be lost on the first official play of the preseason. From there, Rashee Rice, who had taken over as Patrick Mahomes' primary target, was lost in Week 4 for the rest of the campaign.
JuJu Smith-Schuster had stepped up in Week 5 to take Rice's place as a trusted weapon for Mahomes, but he left in Week 7's win over the San Francisco 49ers with a hamstring injury and has already been declared out for Week 8 with the same.
It's far too early to tell if Hunt will be available on Sunday or not given that it's only Wednesday, so the trend will be something to watch in practice. However, even his name being listed here is a reminder that he came back to the Chiefs as a 29-year-old back near the end of his career and managing his workload might be in the best interest of the team moving forward.
Hunt has 63 carries for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns so far for the Chiefs in 2024.