Suspended former Chiefs RB Hunt signs with Browns
Running back Kareem Hunt signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns on Monday, the team announced.
Hunt, a Pro Bowl pick as a rookie in 2017 on his way to a repeat in 2018 with the Kansas City Chiefs, is currently on the exempt list while the NFL investigates an assault captured on video last February.
The incident prompted his immediate release by the Chiefs in November.
Hunt would become a restricted free agent in March 2020, which is significant because the Browns would retain rights of first refusal if another team signs Hunt to an offer sheet.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on air Monday that Hunt was facing a “10 or 12 game” suspension and could even be suspended for the “majority or the entire 2019 season.”
The Browns also have Nick Chubb, a secondround pick in 2018, at running back.
Browns general manager John Dorsey drafted Hunt out of Toledo and has been in contact with him during an ongoing suspension. Hunt, 23, is from the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby and spends a significant part of his offseason in the area.
“My relationship and interaction with Kareem since 2016 in college was an important part of this decision making process but we then did extensive due diligence with many individuals, including clinical professionals, to have a better understanding of the person he is today and whether it was prudent to sign him,” Dorsey said in a statement.
“There were two important factors: one is that Kareem took full responsibility for his egregious actions and showed true remorse and secondly, just as importantly, he is undergoing and is committed to necessary professional treatment and a plan that has been clearly laid out.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said during his Super Bowl week address that the league hoped to finish an investigation — and render any decision on discipline — very soon.
Hunt issued a statement Monday after the deal became official.
“First off, I would like to once again apologize for my actions last year. What I did was wrong and inexcusable,” Hunt said. “That is not the man I was raised to be, and I’ve learned a great deal from that experience and certainly should have been more truthful about it after the fact. I’m extremely grateful that John Dorsey, Dee and Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns organization are granting me the opportunity to earn their trust and represent their organization in the best way possible on and off the field. I am committed to following the necessary steps to learn and to be a better and healthier Veteran safety Eric Reid, a former 49er, signed a threeyear contract with the Carolina Panthers on Monday.
person from this situation. I also understand the expectations that the Browns have clearly laid out and that I have to earn my way back to the NFL. I’m a work in progress as a person, but I’m committed to taking advantage of the support systems that I have in place to become the best and healthier version of myself.”
Dorsey has shown a willingness to align with players with skeletons in their closet in the past, including drafting wide receiver Tyreek Hill despite a serious guilty plea for assault and battery by strangulation of his then-pregnant girlfriend while at Oklahoma State. REID SIGNS 3-YEAR DEAL >> The Carolina Panthers resigned the veteran safety Eric Reid to a three-year contract after he fit in well when he was added to the team during the 2019 season.
Reid confirmed in a conference call with reporters that the deal is worth more than $22 million.
Reid had 71 tackles and one interception in 13 games for Carolina.
“I feel comfortable here,” Reid said in a news release. “I was excited just to get (the deal) done. I fit well into this defense.”
Reid remained on the free-agent market last offseason for six months, and he was convinced it was because of his activism against social injustice.
Reid, formerly of the 49ers, was one of the first people to join former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in taking a knee during the national anthem.
NBA
LIN HEADED TO RAPTORS >> Guard Jeremy Lin and the Atlanta Hawks are finalizing a buyout of his contract, and he then expects to sign with the Toronto Raptors, according to ESPN.
Agents Jim Tanner and Roger Montgomery told ESPN on Monday that Lin, the Palo Alto high product, could be with the Raptors by the middle of the week.
Lin is earning $12.5 million in his first season with the Hawks.
Lin, 30, became a household name in 2012, when a short but prolific run with the New York Knicks sparked what became known as “Linsanity.” But since then, he has played for Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte, and Brooklyn before arriving in Atlanta in the offseason.
In Toronto, he is expected to add depth behind Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet as the Raptors pursue the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, currently a game behind Milwaukee.
With the Hawks, Lin averaged 10.7 points, 3.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game. NBA INVESTIGATING SIMMONS >> Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons wanted to sit down with Magic Johnson to discuss being a big point guard in the NBA, but Sixers general manager Elton Brand said he nixed that idea. And although Brand said he considers the case closed, the NBA is investigating.
“The league office is looking into whether any contact took place between Ben Simmons and the Los Angeles Lakers that violated NBA rules,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
When Brand was interviewed on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia on Monday, the conversation about the 76ers and their post-trade deadline lineup took a turn toward a potential meeting between the Lakers legend and Simmons.
Johnson, the Lakers team president, said Sunday that Simmons had contacted him about potentially meeting in the offseason. Johnson told reporters they couldn’t talk “if everybody doesn’t sign off.”
Brand said his Lakers counterpart, Rob Pelinka, contacted him about a month ago about the idea.
“Rob Pelinka called me and said that Ben wanted to talk to Hall of Famers after the season. Magic was on the list,” Brand said during the interview. “He asked for authorization, I said no. This was over a month ago.”
The Lakers have been fined twice by the NBA for tampering since Johnson has been in charge. And although there has been no talk of the Lakers pursuing Simmons — he doesn’t become a restricted free agent until 2020 - eyes could be raised if he and Johnson got together.
The 22-year-old Simmons is represented by Rich Paul of Klutch Sports. He represents both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, whom the Lakers tried to acquire before the trade deadline last week.
HARDEN KEEPS STREAK INTACT >> Hampered by a strained left shoulder, James Harden nearly had his streak of consecutive 30-point games come to an end before coming alive down the stretch as the host Houston Rockets defeated the Dallas Mavericks 120104 Monday.
Harden finished with a game-high 31 points on 9-for-23 shooting and rounded out his stat line with eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals.
After the Mavericks sliced what was once a 21-point deficit to 109-100 on a Jalen Brunson 3-pointer with 2:52 left to play, Harden drilled back-to-back treys to mute the rally. Harden added two free throws and then hit another 3-pointer with 52.9 seconds left to give him 31 points and extend his streak to 30 games, the third-longest in NBA history.
College basketball
AP POLLS >> The Stanford women’s team’s 40-point loss to Oregon on Sunday didn’t hurt the Cardinal in the AP poll — Stanford moved up a spot to 10th despite the loss. It didn’t hurt that the Cardinal opened the week with a win over then-No. 7 Oregon State. Baylor, Louisville and Oregon retained the top three spots, with UConn and Mississippi State rounding out the top five teams.
In the men’s poll, Tennessee lost several firstplace votes but maintained the top spot ahead of Duke. The Volunteers received 40 of 64 first-place votes, eight fewer than last week. Duke jumped from 12 first-place votes to 24.
Skiing
VONN MEDALS IN FINAL RACE >> American Alpine ski racer Lindsey Vonn claimed the bronze medal in the final race of her storied career.
Vonn, who announced her intention to retire ahead of this month’s FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, finished third in the world championship downhill on Sunday.
“I laid it all on the line,” Vonn said after the race. “I have to admit I was a little bit nervous, probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. I wanted to finish strong so badly.”
The 34-year-old Vonn is the winningest female Alpine racer of all time with 82 World Cup wins, 20 World Cup titles, three Olympic medals and eight World Championship medals.