Browns sign Hunt, giving ex-Chiefs RB a second chance
BEREA, Ohio — The Cleveland Browns believe there is remorse in Kareem Hunt’s heart. The NFL hasn’t gotten that far.
After its investigation, the team signed Hunt to a one-year contract Monday, giving the former star Chiefs running back a second chance after a video showed him pushing and kicking a woman.
“I think we’re all appalled by it,” general manager John Dorsey said hours after the Browns announced the controversial signing. “It is an egregious act. We all understand that. But after doing our research, extensive research, analyzing the situation, we came to the conclusion that I am willing to help a man from a second chance moving forward to be a better person, and that’s all you can ask for in society, and that’s all I’m trying to do.”
Soon after the disturbing video surfaced in December, Kansas City released Hunt, 23, who was seen in a physical altercation with the woman last February during an argument in the lobby of a Cleveland hotel where he stayed.
While the Chiefs’ actions drew public support, the move put Hunt’s career in peril and placed him on the commissioner’s exempt list. He was in his second season with Kansas City and one of the team’s best players after leading the league in rushing as a rookie.
Now, the Browns feel comfortable giving the Cleveland native an opportunity to make amends. Hunt, who sought treatment and counseling, still could be suspended by the league under its personal conduct policy for the incident and two others that surfaced after he was released by the Chiefs.
The league’s investigation is ongoing, and until it is completed the Browns won’t know if or when he will be able to play. Hunt has not been charged with a crime.
Reid: New deal proof of collusion
Eric Reid signed a three-year contract worth more than $22 million with the Carolina Panthers — a deal the safety believes is additional proof that NFL owners conspired to keep him out of the league last season.
Reid said he believes he got “fair-market value” after making just $1.69 million last season with Carolina.
“If anything, it proves my point from last year,” Reid said. “I didn’t sign until the (fourth) week and did for almost the league minimum. And this year I signed a more substantial contract. And nothing has changed. I’m still the same player.”
Reid still has a collusion case pending against NFL owners, alleging that he was not signed last offseason as a direct result of his decision to kneel for the national anthem alongside former San Francisco teammate Colin Kaepernick in protest of social and racial injustice.