Getty Browns running back Kareem Hunt.
The Cleveland Browns say they’re counting on Kareem Hunt this season, though fans shouldn’t count out the possibility that he is traded before it’s over.
The running back is on the final year of a two-year deal in Cleveland set to pay him $6.25 million in 2022. Hunt made his position clear earlier in training camp when he sat out of practice drills in an attempt to elicit a contract extension or a trade.
The Browns called his bluff and Hunt backed down. But with the former NFL rushing leader now even more likely to walk next spring, and the Browns ending up with nothing more to show for it than, perhaps, a compensatory fourth-round draft pick, Cleveland should be thinking about what they could bring back in a trade.
One of the best potential candidates is the team for whom Hunt played prior to landing with the Browns — the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Kareem Hunt Likely Commands More Trade Value Now Than in Future
Jamie Squire/Getty ImagesCleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt runs the ball against his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report on Monday, August 22, suggested that the Chiefs are primed to strike a deal for a playmaker like Hunt considering their current situation at the skill positions.
It’s possible the team that Hunt started his career with would be interested in taking him back. … Hunt’s return would greatly boost a Chiefs backfield that hasn’t gotten much out of 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire. The club is desperate for playmakers after trading away their most dangerous weapon in Tyreek Hill, leaving a major pass-catching void that Hunt could help fill.
Even if it’s only a one-year rental, giving up a late-Day 2 or early-Day 3 draft pick for Hunt would aid the Chiefs tremendously in their quest to make a fifth straight AFC Championship Game.
Kay’s suggested trade offer includes the Browns landing a third- or fourth-round pick from the Chiefs in return for Hunt. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus projected Hunt’s trade value in the range of a fifth-round pick, as of August 17.
If the Browns can do better than Speilberger’s fifth-round suggestion, or a fourth-round compensatory pick, while also clearing cap space, they must at least consider the proposition.
A deal with a team like the Philadelphia Eagles — a contender, despite a weak offensive backfield — would be ideal for the Browns if it also included a player. A package of a fourth-round pick and former first-round wideout Jalen Reagor would check all the boxes in Cleveland and add depth to a receiver position riddled with injury thus far this preseason.
Browns Rare NFL Team That Can Replace Kareem Hunt’s Production
Getty ImagesRunning back D’Ernest Johnson of the Cleveland Browns.
When healthy, the 27-year-old Hunt remains a rare dual threat weapon — though one the Browns can mostly replace, at least in theory.
Hunt is the second part of a one-two punch behind three-time Pro Bowl starter Nick Chubb. Behind Hunt is D’Ernest Johnson who had a breakout year in 2021, and rookie Jerome Ford who has shown flashes of talent during the preseason.
A trade would clear more than $6 million over top of the already $49 million in cap space the Browns currently hold, easing the way further should the team decide to make a move for a player like San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in response to Deshaun Watson’s 11-game suspension.