New NFL Rumors on Isiah Pacheco's Chiefs Future and Predicting Top Landing Spots in 2026 Free Agency

Coming off two injury-plagued seasons, Isiah Pacheco's future in the NFL is expected to be with a different team rather than returning to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2026.

Per The Athletic's Jesse Newell, Pacheco is considered "likely" to sign with another club in free agency.

Predicting a landing spot for Pacheco is difficult because of his injury history and wealth of other free-agent running backs available. Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III, Travis Etienne and Kenneth Gainwell are among the top players at the position set to hit the market.

That doesn't even account for the incoming draft class, led by Notre Dame standout Jeremiyah Love.

Teams that seem to have an obvious need at running back right now include the Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks.

There are other teams that could stand to add more depth at the position, but those are the clubs that might be looking for a potential starter.

A seventh-round pick in the 2022 draft, Pacheco played out his rookie contract. His career started out on a high note with 830 rushing yards, 4.9 yards per attempt and a 57.1 percent success rate that ranked third among all running backs in 2022.

Pacheco followed that up with a career-high 1,179 yards from scrimmage and nine total touchdowns in 2023. The Chiefs won back-to-back Super Bowls in his first two years.

Over the past two seasons, though, Pacheco has been hampered by injuries. He has played 20 games since the start of 2023, racking up 952 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns during that span.

Pacheco's success rate remained strong at 55.1 percent in 2025, which ranked 12th among running backs. He's not an explosive runner so the big gains are unlikely to be there, but the down-to-down success is a feather in his cap for teams looking to help their running back room.