KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs are signing defensive lineman Jerry Tillery and bringing back running back Kareem Hunt, who stepped in last season and helped them reach the Super Bowl, two people familiar with the deals told The Associated Press on Friday.
The people, speaking on condition of anonymity because neither deal had been announced, said that Tillery and Hunt had agreed to one-year contracts. The pair of veterans help to address two glaring holes in the Kansas City depth chart.
The 28-year-old Tillery was a first-round pick of the AFC West-rival Chargers in 2019, then continued his tour of the division by playing for the Raiders. He spent last year with the Vikings, making 11 starts while appearing in all 17 games.
Tillery has played both defensive tackle and defensive end, and he will most likely line up at both spots in Kansas City, where coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes some flexibility in his defense. But the biggest hole that the 6-foot-6, 295-pound Tillery will address is at tackle, where the Chiefs had little depth besides All-Pro Chris Jones in the middle of the line.
Tiller has made 12 1/2 sacks and four forced fumbles in 50 starts and 96 career NFL games.
The 29-year-old Hunt, who began his career in Kansas City before his career was derailed by an off-the-field incident, returned to the team in September, when starting running back Isiah Pacheco went down with an injury.
Hunt filled in so admirably that he became the go-to back even after Pacheco returned, finishing with 728 yards and seven touchdowns on just 200 carries while catching 23 passes for another 176 yards. Hunt also had touchdown runs in playoff wins over Houston and Buffalo, though he was held to just nine yards on three carries in a Super Bowl loss to Philadelphia.
Hunt has run for 5,164 yards and score 64 total touchdowns over parts of eight NFL seasons.
He will join a backfield that includes Pacheco, playing on the final year of his rookie contract, and Elijah Mitchell, whom the Chiefs signed earlier in free agency. Mitchell is the replacement for Samaje Perine, who signed with the Bengals.
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