The Kansas City Chiefs placed running back Isiah Pacheco on injured reserve Wednesday.
Pacheco is expected to undergo surgery on his fractured fibula Wednesday, three days after he sustained the injury during Kansas City’s 26-25 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The move on Wednesday guarantees Pacheco will sit out at least the next four games.
Reports have Pacheco sidelined for 6-8 weeks. However, Chiefs coach Andy Reid told reporters Wednesday that he could not relay a precise timeline for the running back’s expected absence.
The Chiefs addressed their backfield on Wednesday by signing Keaontay Ingram to the active roster and fellow running back Kareem Hunt to the practice squad.
“We’ll get (Hunt) in there and get him some work. Kind of get him back in the swing of playing and we’ll just see,” Reid said. “We’ve got to get him in a position to where he’s ready to play either this, next week or the following week.”
Pacheco, 25, had 90 yards on 19 carries and caught five passes for 21 yards on Sunday. He has a team-high 135 rushing yards through two games.
Since being drafted in the seventh round in 2022, Pacheco has won two Super Bowl championships and racked up 2,328 yards from scrimmage with 15 touchdowns in 33 games (26 starts). He has another 635 yards and four TDs from scrimmage in seven playoff starts.
Veteran Samaje Perine, 29, is listed as Pacheco’s backup on the depth chart but played sparingly on Sunday. He’s viewed as a third-down back.
Undrafted rookie Carson Steele, 21, carried seven times for 24 yards and lost a fumble against Cincinnati.
Hunt, 29, was a third-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft and spent most of the first two years of his professional career in Kansas City, including a Pro Bowl rookie season in which he posted 1,327 rushing yards to lead the league.
Kansas City released Hunt in November 2018 after a video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman in a hotel. After authorities did not move forward with criminal charges, Hunt rebooted his career with the Cleveland Browns in 2019.
“At the end of the day, I root for the person. He’s become a better and better person,” star quarterback Patrick Mahomes said of Hunt. “I’m glad to have him back in the building.”
Last season, Hunt appeared in 15 games with two starts for the Browns. He was re-signed after starter Nick Chubb went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. He rushed 135 times for 411 yards with nine touchdowns and also caught 15 passes for 84 yards.
Hunt was a free agent when he underwent surgery in January for a ruptured adductor that apparently plagued him much of the 2023 season.
In 91 career games (38 starts) with the Chiefs (2017-18) and Browns, Hunt has gained 6,326 yards from scrimmage with 57 scores.
Ingram, 24, rushed for 74 yards and had four catches for 26 yards in eight games (one start) last season with the Arizona Cardinals.
–Field Level Media