Browns running back Kareem Hunt reportedly plans to hold off team drills during training camp until he secures a new contract with the club.
After sitting out part of the team’s practice on Friday, the 27-year-old opted to skip drills for the second straight day as he continues to seek an extension, according to multiple reports. Josina Anderson of CBS Sports reported for the first time news of Hunt’s partial “retention,” adding that it is not believed to be health-related. The five-year veteran played eight games in 2021 due to lingering calf and ankle injuries.
Anderson noted that Hunt has recently informed the team multiple times that his current plan is to only participate in one-on-one drills until the two sides reach a resolution. Anderson also reported that while Hunt has unofficially told team members that he wants to either be paid or traded, a source stressed that he would ultimately like to stay in Cleveland.
Hunt, who signed a one-year deal with the Browns as a free agent in 2019, is entering the final season of a two-year, $13.25 million extension he signed in September ’20.
Cleveland.com’s Mark Kay Cabot later confirmed the retention ties in a report from minicamp in June, stating that Hunt expressed his desire to stay long-term to team officials. To date, there has been no traction on a new deal.
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“Right now I’m taking it day by day, man,” Hunt said in June. per CBS. “I’ll see what they want to do with me and I’m just taking it day by day. I hope I can be here long term. We’ll see what God has planned for me, that’s all I can say.”
A Pro Bowler with the Chiefs in 2017, Hunt was one of the most reliable backup backs in the NFL after spending his first two seasons as the starter in Kansas City. His role as second fiddle, albeit a valuable one, to star Nick Chubb has placed the Browns firmly in the conversation for the best RB tandem in the league over the last three years.
In his 32 games in Cleveland, Hunt amassed 1,406 rushing yards and 13 scores, with 97 receptions for 763 yards and six touchdown catches.
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