The Kansas City Chiefs have had some of the best running backs in the NFL over the last 20 years. With names like Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, and Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs haven't worried too much about running the ball. However, with Charles moving to the Denver Broncos this offseason, the Chiefs were hoping that Spencer Ware would be ready for Prime Time.
However, the Chiefs won't get a chance to see if Spencer Ware is their franchise running back for a little while longer. The fifth year running back from LSU fell to injury in Friday night's preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Spencer Ware injury
Spencer Ware was carted off the field after suffering a knee injury in the game Friday night. While head coach Andy Reid called the injury a sprain, Ware had tests run on Saturday and it looks like it is much worse. Bleacher Report indicated that the Kansas City Chiefs running back reportedly suffered LCL and PCL injuries.
The time frame that Ware will miss in 2017 is undetermined but those injuries usually take a player out for between two to eight weeks depending on the severity of the injury. While Charcandrick West played last season and CJ Spiller was, at one time, considered a future star, Andy Reid said that it is rookie Kareem Hunt who is "next man up."
Who is Kareem Hunt?
Three running back's names stand out when it comes to the 2017 NFL Draft.
Joe Mixon will be one of the biggest stars for the Cincinnati Bengals, Leonard Fournette will be the starter in the Jacksonville, and Christian McCaffrey will get a ton of carries with the Carolina Panthers. Dalvin Cook of the Minnesota Vikings will probably be a starter as well.
However, Kareem Hunt was a late third round pick, chosen even after Alvin Kamara, a player drafted by the New Orleans Saints to play behind both Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram.
Hunt played college ball at Toledo where he ran for 4,945 yards with 44 touchdowns over four seasons.
Now, the player who only eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards twice in four college seasons will be asked to put up numbers that will remind fans of Jamaal Charles, Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes. As far as Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is concerned, Hunt is ready for the task at hand.
"Kareem got good work last week. He learned how fast this thing can change, where all of a sudden you become that starter," Reid said. He's in a position to do that.
In the second preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Kareem Hunt ran for 40 yards on eight carries and he ran for 39 yards on nine carries after replacing Spencer Ware on Friday night.
