NFL Pro Bowl Running Back Requests Trade Ahead of 2022 Season

By Brian Jones

An NFL Pro Bowl running back is ready to make a big move. According to ESPN, Kareem Hunt has requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. He is in the final year of his two-year, $12 million contract and has missed team drills the past two practices before returning to them on Sunday. ESPN says that the Browns have privately declined Hunt's request. 

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was asked about the trade request on Sunday. "I'm not going to get into really anything that has to do with our players and conversations," he said. Stefanski also added that he "won't get into that" when he was asked about punishing Hunt for missing team drills. 

Hunt, who turned 27 on Saturday, joined the Browns in 2019 after spending his first two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. His best season in Cleveland was 2020 when he rushed for 841 yards and six touchdowns on 198 carries. When Hunt joined the Browns in 2019, he was suspended for the first eight games of the regular season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. When Hunt was with the Chiefs, a video surfaced of his physically assaulting a woman and kicking her on the ground. 

Last year, Hunt only played in eight games because he was dealing with a calf injury. "It was tough because I'm not used to sitting at home watching games on the couch," he said in June, per the Browns' official website. "It was kind of a weird thing. I don't like that feeling, not being able to go out there and help the team. It was very tough."

Hunt was selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. He made an instant impact his rookie season, rushing for 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns on 272 carries. Hunt also caught 53 passes for 455 yards and three touchdowns, and his production led to him being selected to the Pro Bowl. In 2018, Hunt played in just 11 games due to the video that surfaced. He finished the year with 841 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 304 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns. Hunt played college football at Toledo and was a three-time selection to the All-MAC Team. 

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