The Cleveland Browns have a full running back room, but the talent level is a question with Nick Chubb out and multiple recent cuts behind third-year player and backup Jerome Ford.
Cleveland chose to leave Chubb on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to begin the season, which means the four-time Pro Bowler will miss at least the first four games. Ford will elevate into the role of de facto starter, while Pierre Strong Jr. will assume the third-string once he returns from a rib injury he sustained during practice on August 21.
The Browns cut D’Onta Foreman on August 27, just one day after parting ways with Jacob Saylors and Aidan Robbins. Cleveland may intend to bring Foreman back to the practice squad in a few days time, and eventually/potentially back to the 53-man roster — especially if Strong joins Chubb in the ranks of the unavailable ahead of the September 8 season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
Still, Cleveland is carrying a precariously thin RB room just 10 days before they take the field in Week 1. As such, Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report named the franchise as a potential landing spot for former Brown and former NFL rushing champion Kareem Hunt.
“Hunt is perhaps the most intriguing free agent running back available, even though he’s been available all offseason. The 29-year-old rejoined the Cleveland Browns following Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury in Week 2 and quickly became a noteworthy contributor,” Knox wrote on Wednesday, August 28. “With Chubb on the [PUP] list … the Browns could be interested in adding another RB before the start of the regular season.”
Kareem Hunt Has Had 5 Productive Seasons With Browns
Hunt spent the past five seasons in Cleveland after playing his first two years with the Kansas City Chiefs. He captured the rushing title with 1,327 yards during his rookie campaign in 2017.
Chubb and Hunt have been teammates for the entirety of the former’s career and have a strong relationship, as Hunt played second-fiddle to Chubb for the first four of those campaigns.
The Browns cut ties with Hunt following 2022 after the running back caused some minor tumult over contract issues the summer prior. He entered 2023 unsigned, though rejoined the team following Chubb’s knee injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hunt signed a one-year deal worth $1.35 million to play the final 15 weeks for the Browns, during which he produced 411 rushing yards and 9 TDs as the team’s primary goal line back. He also caught 15 passes for 84 yards.
For his career, Hunt has racked up 6,326 yards from scrimmage and 57 total TDs.
Following the 2023 campaign, the Browns made major offensive changes that included the firings of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, running backs coach Stump Mitchell and tight ends coach T.C. McCartney.
Mitchell sent a clear message about Hunt during an interview following his departure from the organization.
“The thing that I couldn’t do while I was there is get the best out of Kareem. If they bring him back, I hope the next coach will be able to get the best out of [him],” Mitchell said during a January 22 interview with Camryn Justice of News 5 Cleveland. “As a coach, all you want to do is to make a player better. But I wasn’t able to get him to not be the last guy in meetings, not to be out at practice on time.”
Mitchell added that he tried to enlist the help of offensive leaders to get through to Hunt during their time together with the Browns, but to no avail.
“Kareem is a hell of a player, but this is a team game, and I tried to use every avenue that I could with Jacoby Brissett, also Deshaun [Watson], those guys talking to him,” Mitchell said. “But timing in this business is everything.”
With Chubb and Strong currently injured, the Browns’ depth chart at the position reads Ford and newcomer Nyhiem Hines, who is recovering from an ACL injury and has yet to pass a physical.
If that is the group leading up to Dallas, a successful veteran like Hunt with experience in Cleveland’s offensive schemes could offer legitimate value.
