KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- From Jamaal Charles to Kareem Hunt, the Kansas City Chiefs have had some premier running backs since Andy Reid arrived as head coach in 2013. But they haven’t had much depth at the position.
They’ve moved to fix that in recent weeks. The Chiefs signed two veteran backs, Damien Williams and Kerwynn Williams, and hope Spencer Ware can return from the knee injury that cost him all of last season.
They’ll join Hunt, who led the NFL in rushing as a rookie last season, and Charcandrick West, who led the Chiefs in rushing in 2015, to give Kansas City what appears to be a deep backfield.
"We’ve got a number of guys that have played and done well playing," Reid said. "In my mind and obviously in [general manager Brett Veach’s] mind, because he’s the one who did this, you can’t have enough of those guys. That’s a tough position and there was availability there. So we figured, listen, if we have a chance to get good players, let’s go ahead and better ourselves, let the competition be there and let’s see what happens.
"There’s going to be great competition right there. It’s going to be a pretty neat battle to watch."
Hunt will remain the starter. Reid has said the Chiefs would like to use Hunt more as a receiver. He was Kansas City’s leading receiver among backs with 53 catches, but he didn’t play a lot on third downs.
Otherwise, few things seem certain. Ware will have a role if he’s healthy. He rushed for 921 yards in 2016 to lead the Chiefs, but he injured his knee in the preseason last year and missed the whole regular season.
Some of the Chiefs’ activity at running back seems to be fueled by concerns that Ware won’t be ready to play when the regular season begins.
"I don’t know how much we’ll get him in [offseason practice] but he’ll be, I think, ready once we get to camp," Reid said.
Damien Williams and Kerwynn Williams both are four-year veterans, Damien with the Miami Dolphins and Kerwynn with the Arizona Cardinals. Neither has been a regular starter. Each has been effective at times, Damien mostly as a pass receiver. Kerwynn had his only career 100-yard game against the Chiefs in 2014.
West replaced the injured Charles as featured back in 2015. He lost the starting job to Ware the following season and was used mostly on third downs last year.
