As the Chiefs chase a 3-peat, DeAndre Hopkins and other vets finally get their Super Bowl chance

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - DeAndre Hopkins was stuck on a downtrodden team in Tennessee headed for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Kareem Hunt was stuck without a job at all.

Yet the veteran wide receiver and running back, along with Marquise Brown, D.J. Humphries and others, managed to strike gold - as in, gold and diamond-encrusted AFC championship rings - when circumstances brought them to Kansas City.

Now, that collection of players will try for even more riches when they face the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in a little more than a week, a remarkable twist for NFL careers that had been long on personal success but short on team results.

"Words can’t really describe it," admitted Hopkins, a three-time All-Pro, who had done just about everything in his career but play for a true championship contender. "A dream come true. I’ve been in the league 12 years and I haven’t gotten this far."

The Chiefs have, of course. They are making their third straight trip to the big game, and fifth in six years, as they try to become the first franchise in NFL history to raise three consecutive Lombardi Trophies come Super Bowl Sunday.

They might as well start scheduling these February business trips.

But for most players, including Hopkins, making it is akin to a crowning achievement, a moment they worked for their entire career. In his case, that meant 178 regular-season games and eight more in the playoffs. His combined production has meant more than 1,000 catches and 13,000 yards, or roughly 7 1/2 miles worth of receptions. And it meant many wins, but just as many losses.

So it was quite the career lifeline for Hopkins when the Chiefs, who had lost Brown and Rashee Rice to injuries, asked the Titans about a trade. He joined a franchise with a championship pedigree from a team that finished 3-14 this past 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 under similar circumstances: They needed a running back after Isiah Pacheco got hurt.

He was sitting around at home when it happened, still recovering from a core muscle surgery that had scared many teams off from signing him this season. Hunt picked up the phone and called Andy Reid, who had coached him in Kansas City - before off-the-field issues led to Hunt’s release - and who had stayed in contact with him over 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 immediately became the lead running back for Kansas City, picking up hard yards every time he touched the ball. When Pacheco returned from his injury, it quickly became apparent that Hunt was still the more productive of the two, and it showed in an AFC title win over Buffalo last week. Hunt ran 17 times for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Now, he’s headed to his first Super Bowl after playing more than 100 regular-season games.

"It’s always special to come full circle," Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said, "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 likewise chasing his first Super Bowl ring, though his path to this point was a bit different.

The fleet-footed yet injury-prone wide receiver signed a one-year deal with Kansas City prior to the season, hoping to be the No. 1 option for Patrick Mahomes on a team chasing a historic Super Bowl title.

Instead, on the very first play of the preseason, he sustained a shoulder injury that many thought would end Brown’s season.

The Chiefs held out hope that he might return, though, and his rehab by November was ahead of schedule. Brown finally got on the field in December and has become a part of a wide receiver group that may be the best Kansas City has had in years.

Just like Hopkins and Hunt, Brown now finds himself playing for a championship on the biggest stage in the game.

"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 seals 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."