The Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns are officially set to face off in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Ex-Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt is slated to return to Arrowhead Stadium with the Browns. This will be the first time he’s faced his former team since his release back in the 2018 season. The last time these two teams met, Hunt was actually still a member of the Chiefs.
When Hunt spoke to the media following last night’s wild-card game, he revealed that he still receives a lot of support from his former teammates in Kansas City.
“Yeah, I definitely keep in touch with those guys,” Hunt told reporters following the wild-card game. “That’s where I started and they did a lot for me. I’ve got a lot of people on that team that look out for me and care for me as a person. I care for them too.”
Hunt is coming off of a big performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he had eight carries for 48 yards and two touchdowns. One of Hunt’s strongest advocates, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, gave him a shoutout on Twitter during the game.
That man @Kareemhunt7 is so nice 💪🏽
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) January 11, 2021
Leading up to the game, don’t expect much more love between the two players, though.
“I probably won’t be doing too much talking to those guys, but maybe one or a few I’ll call and just chop it up, ask them how they’re doing and stuff,” Hunt said. “Other than that, you know, sorry but we’re enemies this week fellas.”
During the Browns’ postgame locker room celebration, Hunt was recorded on his Instagram live feed saying, “Next week’s personal, next week’s personal.” It could have simply been a heat-of-the-moment type thing as he only has himself to blame for the circumstances surrounding his release from Kansas City. Yet, when a Cleveland media member asked Hunt if he had something to prove to his former team, he didn’t answer directly.
“I don’t say too much about that,” Hunt said. “I’m just going to let my game go through.”
I take that to mean that Hunt intends to let his game do the talking. And after his big performance against the Steelers, you can rest assured that the Chiefs will be game-planning for his involvement too.
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