Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt.
Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt will be out for redemption when the Cleveland Browns take on his former side in Week 1 of the 2021 season.
Speaking to reporters during his inaugural football camp Thursday in Willoughby, Ohio, the 25-year-old admitted he faces a tough first game at his former stomping grounds, but believes the Browns are definitely up for the challenge.
“That’s a great team, a great program, and I can’t wait to play some of my old teammates and brothers,” he said, via the Akron Beacon-Journal. We’re excited. It’s a game we believe we should have won last year, and now we’ve got another chance to get back out there Week 1.”
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Given he is a Cleveland native, Hunt’s penchant for winning with his hometown team is undeniably passionate. Even if it means even sacking the league’s best player, he’ll do it.
Kareem Hunt on what more he could do: “If they tell me to go rush off the edge and sack Patrick Mahomes, I’m going to try to do that, too.”
“If they told me to go rush off the edge and sack Patrick Mahomes, I’m going to try to do that, too,” he said. “It’s whatever they ask me to do. I just love the game of football. I’m a competitive person and always trying to win.”
Hunt Wants To Avenge Last Year’s Divisional Round Loss
You could say Cleveland’s Divisional Round loss against Kansas City still torments Hunt to this day. He expressed excitement about playing his “brothers,” but also made it a point to mention how he believes that January 17 game should have gone.
“That’s a great team, a great program, and I can’t wait to play some of my old teammates and brothers. We’re excited. It’s a game we believe we should have won last year, and now we’ve got another chance to get back out there Week 1.”
Kareem Hunt takes time out from his football camp to meet with reporters. He says his most memorable game at South was when as junior he rushed for 400 yards and six touchdowns in the mud. # Browns. @NHPreps
In the 22-17 loss, Hunt recorded 32 yards rushing and a touchdown, and he also caught a pass for two yards. Days after the contest, Hunt said losing to his former team didn’t make matters worse.
Via Tom Withers of the Associated Press in January: “I love those guys. It don’t hurt more. That’s a good football team. Good people all around over there.”
In September, Hunt and the Browns agreed to a two-year, $13.25 million extension, keeping him tied to the franchise through 2022.
According to Kelce, the Browns and Chiefs Will Be ‘Neck and Neck’
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, another Ohio native, also had his fair share of words to say about the season opener while attending Jarvis Landry’s celebrity softball game. Per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal:
“They’re definitely a contender, without a doubt. It’s definitely there. Baker [Mayfield] and the gang have upped the ante, made this team an unbelievable team and a team you have to prepare for and take serious. I think that moving forward without a doubt, I can see a lot more playoff games between us, and I’ll just take it one day at a time and hope for it. I think the Browns and Chiefs are definitely neck and neck.”
The Chiefs are definitely still regarded as the most threatening side in the AFC and the eventual Super Bowl champions in 2022. But, the enthusiasm coming from the Browns is nothing to take lightly.
READ MORE: Travis Kelce Gives Dreary Assessment of Super Bowl LV Loss
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Browns’ Kareem Hunt Details Plans for Beating Chiefs in Week 1