BEREA, Ohio — The Browns are preparing for their big divisional matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night, but just around the corner from that is the looming NFL trade deadline, which sees the window to make moves close at 4 p.m. Tuesday. One name on the roster is drawing eyes awaiting to see what his future will hold—running back Kareem Hunt.
Hunt has expressed his interest in signing an extension with his hometown team since the offseason, but that was not able to be worked out. While he was looking to negotiate with the team, Hunt briefly sat out of team drills during training camp. He returned with no extension, but the desire never left.
Now, with the trade deadline approaching, Hunt's future remains in question. There are teams around the league who could use a running back that can produce with the explosion and force Hunt does, there's no question there. The Browns are also in a position of not having a lot of draft capital for the next few years after sending much of it in the package for quarterback Deshaun Watson.
So, yes, a trade could be mutually beneficial to the Browns and another organization, and at the end of the day, this is a business first. The Browns will listen to interest from teams on different players and weigh out the value of any prospective offers to see if they would be a fit. Those conversations have been ongoing as is.
Still, the Browns do like having Hunt on the roster paired with Nick Chubb, even with his carries not reflecting that the past two games, dropping to double digits against the Ravens and Patriots.
“No reason, expect him to help us contribute this game," said Head Coach Kevin Stefanski when asked about Hunt's reduced touches. “Sometimes you get unlucky a little bit, He got unlucky with some really bad runs, quite honestly, but I wouldn’t read too much into that.
The looming nature of the deadline is something Stefanski said they don't focus on and put simply, "that’s the time of year you’re in.—it’s the things you put out on social media I’m sure but we don’t pay too much attention to it."
And for Chubb, Stefanski's confession that they pay no mind seems accurate.
Chubb said that he hasn't talked about the trade deadline or any possibility of Hunt's departure with the other member of the dynamic backfield duo. It's out of sight out of mind until something pans out or the deadline passes without a hitch.
But no matter if the Browns end up with an offer with value for Hunt and do trade him, or he remains a member of the Browns, he'll always have the support of his running back brother.
"Kareem is a good friend of mine. He’s a great teammate. Great to play with, so who knows what happens? I love playing with Kareem," Chubb said.
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