Aug. 7: Sounds like Hunt has made an official trade request, according to Cabot. As expected, the Browns say they have no intention of honoring that request.
Aug. 6: There have been questions about Kareem Hunt’s future as the Browns enter a contract year dating back to the early months of the offseason. At first, there didn’t appear to be any drama as both sides took a somewhat casual approach to the negotiations that seemed inevitable, but now that the regular season is breathing down his neck, Hunt appears to be acting bolder. Hunt sat out team drills for the second straight practice today, according to CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson , telling the Browns he plans to only participate in individual drills.
Reports in May described the contract situation as up in the air, claiming that if the two sides couldn’t come to terms with negotiations before camp, it would likely reduce the chances of Hunt remaining in Cleveland this year. Just a week later, additional reports claimed that despite the lack of certainty about his future, Hunt was “still very much in the Browns’ plans for this season,” saying the team had no plans to trade or release Hunt due to lack of of substantial extension negotiations.
It took several more weeks before Hunt finally made his point that he wanted to re-sign with the Browns, wanting an extension but taking things “day by day” in mid-June. After reaching full health soon after, Hunt made further comments regarding his contract situation.
“I hope they get paid,” Hunt said. “So you know, whatever they decide, they know I’m going to go out there and give it my all and do whatever I can to help the team win.”
That obviously only applies to the regular season, given Hunt’s new preseason plans. The two recent “partial holds” were “the first time since training camp that Hunt did not participate” in team drills. Cleveland is in a position to, and likely will, subject him to fines for his lack of participation.
Hunt’s agent was reportedly at the Browns facility earlier this week, possibly to work on a potential new deal for the 27-year-old. According to Anderson, team members said “he wants to get paid or be traded.” The belief is that he would really prefer to stay in Cleveland, he just wants to be paid what he’s worth.
The Browns did well to slowly hammer out a new deal for Hunt after he missed nine games last year due to injuries and COVID-19. Because of the time missed and the way the second year of his contract is structured, it made sense that Cleveland would be fine with letting Hunt play out his contract year and renegotiate a new deal after the season. They appeared to be taking the lead from Hunt, but now, with Hunt’s new decision to be more vocal about his desires, they are in the awkward position of having to deal with negotiations in the weeks leading up to the regular season.
A native of Willoughby, Ohio, Hunt recently made it clear that he would like to eventually end his career in Cleveland, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. Unfortunately for Hunt, he doesn’t have much influence. Multiple running backs who can contribute and a contract that doesn’t punish the team much for waiting stacks the deck against Hunt.
Hunt is expected to be the Browns’ No. 2 running back behind star Nick Chubb. D’Ernest Johnson and Demetric Felton got a chance to show their stuff in Hunt’s absence last year, and fifth-round pick Jerome Ford showed serious potential coming into the league. The mix of contributing running backs has the potential to make Hunt redundant, especially if he decides to stick around.
Hunt certainly has the talent to be a starting quarterback in this league, as his rookie year in Kansas City showed, and he likely wants to be paid like that. Unfortunately, the situation is against him, so he has taken drastic measures to try to achieve his means. With Cleveland’s first preseason game in six days and the regular season starting in just over a month, time is running out for the two sides to come to terms.
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