The day after the Vikings' preseason loss at Seattle, where only Ty Chandler looked the part among Minnesota's reserve running backs, the team played host to former Browns and Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt on a free-agent visit, according to a league source with knowledge of the situation.
Free-agent running back Kareem Hunt visits Vikings, leaves without deal
The Vikings appear to still be looking for backfield help and turned to Kareem Hunt, 28, who also recently worked out with the Colts and Saints. He left Friday without a contract.
August 12, 2023 at 1:04AM
Hunt arrived at TCO Performance Center in Eagan on Friday, continuing the 28-year-old's tour around the league. Hunt visited the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday and the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday, leaving both franchises without an agreement.
Hunt, once the NFL's leading rusher in 2017 as a Chiefs rookie, remains a free agent after the Browns let his contract expire in March. He spent the past four years in Cleveland, where Hunt backed up Nick Chubb and peaked with 1,145 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns during the 2020 season.
Hunt was originally a 2017 third-round pick by the Chiefs out of Toledo. He was cut by Kansas City in November 2018 after a video surfaced of Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel. He served an eight-game suspension in 2019.
The Vikings are apparently open to adding a veteran runner to pair with starter Alexander Mattison. They released longtime starter Dalvin Cook in June as a cost-cutting measure after he declined a pay cut. Cook, like Hunt, remains a free agent along with other big-name backs, including Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette.
Coach Kevin O'Connell praised Chandler's efforts in Seattle. He led the backfield with 15 touches for 70 yards from scrimmage. But the team didn't get much from seventh-round rookie DeWayne McBride or recent addition Abram Smith. Third-year running back Kene Nwangwu sat out because of an undisclosed injury.
"[Chandler's] ability to see it in live-game action," O'Connell said Thursday night. "His vision, his burst, his finish, it all showed up. And then his ability out of the backfield, either on a screen to even getting 4 or 5 [yards] on a screen that wasn't well executed, he's making things happen."
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
