The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the legal tampering period of free agency with a bang, agreeing to sign San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle, Jaylon Moore.

Whilst the number of Moore’s deal; 2 years, $30 million; implies that he will be Patrick Mahomes‘ starting protector on the blindside for the foreseeable future, the team made an important move for a backup player on Monday.

The Chiefs signed another 49ers player, in running back Elijah Mitchell, in a deal up to $3.5 million, per Jordan Schultz.

Sources: The #Chiefs are signing RB Elijah Mitchell worth up to $3.5M. pic.twitter.com/epIYCXPaEv

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 10, 2025

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However, this could point to bad news for Kansas City’s current RB2, Kareem Hunt, who is also a free agent as of Wednesday.

Kareem Hunt upgrade ‼️‼️‼️ https://t.co/TKcwzZ5Gn6

— David Miller (@millerfootball_) March 10, 2025

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Chiefs Unlikely To Re-Sign Hunt With Mitchell Agreeing To Deal

Although in theory the team could also re-sign Hunt, it would not make a ton of sense with Mitchell set to join starter, Isiah Pacheco and impressive young talent, the undrafted Carson Steele, on the Chiefs’ roster.

Hunt filled in admirably during his second stint with the organization; having originally been released in 2018 amidst accusations of domestic violence that were caught on video; generating 728 rushing yards in 8 starts for the team.

Yet Hunt still only averaged 3.6 yards per carry, and heading into his age-30 season there is -reasonably – legitimate concerns about his playing trajectory moving forward.

What Does Elijah Mitchell Bring To The Table?

The 26-year old Elijah Mitchell represents a cheap and youthful upgrade on Hunt, as a player still trending in the right direction.

With the $3.5 million/year deal, Kansas City are also buying low on a player whose past three seasons have been marred by injury, after breaking out as a rookie to the tune of 963 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.

Since then, between the arrival of Christian McCaffrey and injury-ridden seasons in 2022 and 2024, the latter of which in he did not play a single snap in due to a hamstring ailment that put him on season-ending IR in August, the former’s 6th round pick’s career has not continued at the same blistering pace that it commenced at.

But now heading into next season with a cleaner bill of health, the Chiefs will be hoping that he can provide a sneakily strong 1-2 punch with Pacheco in the run game.

This does likely mean, as a result, that Hunt is out of the picture, especially considering the team will want to continue the development of Steele, whom head coach, Andy Reid, is high on.

Moreover, with 2025 being an excellent draft for running backs up and down the board, it feels like making an offer to bring back a 30 year old back who is now past the dreaded 2,000 carries mark between college and the pros, and who has character-based issues in his past, could be a waste of resources.

Resources that could be better spent on improving or maintaining the primary needs of the team – like re-signing nose tackle Tershawn Wharton.

The door is certainly not closed on KC making a move to re-sign Hunt for one more season, but he will likely get more lucrative offers elsewhere.

Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas

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