The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hunt joins practices, avoids mistakes
Running back says he’s going to ‘lay low;’ Chubb looking forward to backfield combo
Someday Kareem Hunt will be asked questions pertaining only to football, but Aug. 5 was not that day.
The former Willoughby South High star running back met with the media for the first time after missing eight days of Browns training camp with a groin injury. It was also the first time reporters had the chance to ask him about being questioned by police outside a Cleveland bar on June 29.
Nothing came from the incident outside the Barley House five weeks ago, but Hunt is being
held to a high standard because he was released by the Chiefs last Nov. 30 and suspended for the first eight games of 2019 for shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel in February 2018.
“We know that Kareem has work to do, and he’s in counseling working really hard,” Browns co-owner Dee Haslam said July 28. “It’s up to him. It truly is up to him. We have high expectations for our players. He needs to continue to work really hard to be part of our organization.”
Hunt called the June incident a “misunderstanding” when meeting with reporters Aug. 5.
“It was a misunderstanding and I appreciate that the Browns still had my back,” Hunt said. “I know I can’t have those, so I look to move forward and continue bettering myself and working and getting ready for the season. I’m just going to lay low and continue working at being a better person. I’m going to learn from everything and not make the same mistake again.”
Hunt worked in individual drills at the Orange and Brown scrimmage Aug. 3 and again Aug. 5. There is no timetable for his return to team drills or whether he will get any carries in the preseason opener Aug. 8 against the Redskins at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Coach Freddie Kitchens said he has not figured out how he will use Hunt in practice when Hunt is cleared.
“I know I can’t have those, so I look to move forward and continue bettering myself and working and getting ready for the season.” — Browns RB Kareem Hunt
The Sept. 8 season opener against Tennessee is less than five weeks away. Kitchens has to balance getting ready for the opener with not wearing out starter Nick Chubb and getting practice time for Hunt. Running back Duke Johnson remains sidelined with a groin injury.
“To be perfectly honest, we haven’t even started thinking about Tennessee yet,” Kitchens added. “We are trying to live in the moment of today. We have some corrections to make today and to get better tomorrow.”
Kitchens is not fretting about what happened outside the Barley House. But he did say getting questioned by police is a reminder for Hunt the running back cannot have any slip-ups.
“It’s really one of those things where sometimes if you start feeling good about yourself about what you’re doing as a person, then maybe I can do a few other things, whatever those things are,” Kitchens said. “I think it kind of just brought him back to reality that you’re in the NFL, you are Kareem Hunt. You have to be careful in everything that you do because these things right here (cameras) are everywhere.
“I’m pleased with Kareem. Do not misinterpret that. I’m pleased with Kareem on the progress he is making off the field, more so than anything.”
The best of the Browns offense might not be on display until Hunt returns for the Nov. 10 game against the Bills. He and Chubb in the same huddle could cause nightmares for opposing defensive coordinators.
“It’s going to be scary,” Chubb said. “Kareem does a lot of great things
“I remember watching him in college and last year from afar. He’s a big playmaker, makes special plays. He’s very athletic and does a lot of great things catching the ball, too. It’s going to be fun to play with him.”
Chubb rushed for 996 yards last year. Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 yards rushing as a rookie with the Chiefs in 2017. He had 824 yards rushing when he was cut last season with five games remaining.
Quick hitters
Eric Kush worked with the first offense for the second straight practice — the first time that happened this training camp. Kitchens isn’t quite ready to hand Kush the starting job. “We’ll see if he can string some days together,” Kitchens said. “It’s still a competition. I told all three of them (Kush, Austin Corbett and Kyle Kalis) that I’m looking for somebody to step up. We’re almost two weeks in now. Somebody needs to start separating themselves.”…Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. missed practice with an illness. … Wide receiver Jarvis Landry started practice but left and was examined by the medical staff for an unknown reason. … The starting defensive line of end Myles Garrett (knee), tackle Larry Ogunjobi (groin), tackle Sheldon Richardson (abdomen) and end Olivier Vernon (hamstring) missed practice.