The Kansas City Chiefs are facing many issues in their running back room right now and in their future. The Chiefs are currently heading into Week 5 to face-off with the number seven ranked run defense of the New Orleans Saints, with many uncertainties in their backfield. With star RB Isiah Pacheco out until at least November and with the new addition of Kareem Hunt, it left many curious on how this group would playout. As of now they are ranked 15th in rushing yards per game compared to last year’s 17th. Hunt as of Week 5 is listed as the number one RB on the depth chart, but was limited at practice as he is dealing with a shoulder injury. Also, Clyde Edwards-Helaire still remains doubtful to play until Week 7, which could mean Carson Steele and Samaje Perine are the only healthy RBs on the depth chart for those coming weeks. The Chiefs do have Emani Bailey and Keaontay Ingram on the practice squad that they could bring up to help that current situation until Pacheco comes back, but the RB problems don’t end there.
If we look farther ahead to the end of the 2024 season, the Chiefs will have to make crucial contract decisions for the team regarding the position.
At the end of this season Edwards-Helaire, Perine and Hunt all have their contracts expire with the team. Each of these players took one-year deals with the team for a little more than one million dollars each. The Chiefs could re-sign one or more of these players, but each of them took team friendly deals and could look to sign elsewhere for more money. If all three players leave in the off-season, it would leave Pacheco and Steele as the remaining RBs on the active roster. Steele signed a contract with the team that will see him play at least through the 2026 season and with Pacheco he will become a free agent after the 2025 season posing more difficulties.
It has become a trend in the NFL that teams have not been signing as many contract extensions with their RBs. So, it will be interesting to see if the Chiefs follow this trend or if they will offer Pacheco an extension.
However, the success that they have had with drafting RBs in the past years may lead to them letting Pacheco walk and taking their chances in the draft. There are also many free agent RBs the Chiefs could target that they may try and fill the RB role. The RB position will be interesting to pay close attention to for this season and the seasons to come with the Chiefs.