DeAndre Hopkins was stuck on a struggling team in Tennessee, which was heading for the first pick in the draft.
Kareem Hunt was without a job altogether.
However, the veteran wide receiver and running back, along with Marquise Brown, D.J. Humphries, and others, found success when circumstances led them to Kansas City.
Now, this group of players will aim for even more success when they face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in just over a week, a surprising turn for NFL careers that had seen individual achievements but lacked team success.
“Words can’t really describe it,” said Hopkins, a three-time All-Pro who had done nearly everything in his career but play for a real championship contender. “A dream come true. I’ve been in the league 12 years and I haven’t gotten this far.”
The Chiefs have been here before. They are making their third straight trip to the big game, and their fifth in six years, aiming to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Lombardi Trophies on Super Bowl Sunday.
For most players, including Hopkins, making it to the Super Bowl is the greatest accomplishment, the result of a career’s worth of effort. For Hopkins, that meant 178 regular-season games and eight more in the playoffs. His combined stats include over 1,000 catches and 13,000 yards, which is roughly 7 1/2 miles worth of receptions. It also meant plenty of wins, but just as many losses.
So, it was a huge opportunity for Hopkins when the Chiefs, who had lost Brown and Rashee Rice to injuries, asked the Titans about a trade. He joined a team with a history of championships after being part of a squad that finished 3-14 last season.
“To get traded and try to learn the playbook overnight, it was tough. But this organization and these coaches, they’re here for a reason, to get guys to be their best,” Hopkins said. “I never went anywhere where they were talking about the Super Bowl.”
Hunt joined the Chiefs in a similar situation: The team needed a running back after Isiah Pacheco got injured.
He had been at home, recovering from core muscle surgery that had scared off many teams. Hunt reached out to Andy Reid, who had coached him in Kansas City before off-field issues led to his release, and had kept in touch with him through the years.
“He just said he wanted to be there,” Reid recalled. “He’s got a good heart, even when he went through his deal. He has a good heart, and I had confidence he could jump in and help us, and I knew he wanted to redeem himself amongst the community.”
Hunt quickly became the lead running back for Kansas City, gaining tough yards every time he played. When Pacheco returned, it was clear that Hunt was still the more effective player, showing it in an AFC title win over Buffalo. Hunt ran 17 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Now, he’s headed to his first Super Bowl after over 100 regular-season games.
“It’s always special to come full circle,” said Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, “and to see the way he’s grown and developed on and off the field is great. He’s a phenomenal football player and I’m blessed that it worked out and he’s back here.”
Brown is also chasing his first Super Bowl ring, but his path to this point was a little different.
The speedy but injury-prone wide receiver signed a one-year deal with Kansas City before the season, hoping to be the top option for Patrick Mahomes on a team looking for a historic Super Bowl win.
However, on the first play of the preseason, he suffered a shoulder injury that many thought would end his season.
The Chiefs held out hope that he could return, and by November, his recovery was ahead of schedule. Brown finally got back on the field in December and became a key part of one of the best wide receiver groups Kansas City has had in years.
Just like Hopkins and Hunt, Brown is now playing for a championship on the biggest stage.
“Just seeing Kareem standing there going, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable,’ or D.J. jumping up and down, who’s been in this league a while and been through a few things, or DeAndre — he had a smile on his face, it was a mile wide,” Reid said.
“I mean, all those things, (Samaje) Perine goes and helps seal the (AFC title) for us — a new addition. All that stuff is great. That’s why you do this, that’s why you do this as a coach. To get to see those guys that have achieved like they’ve achieved here.”
