Kelce: Hunt will make most of second chance

Travis Kelce, tight end with the Chiefs and a former teammate of running back Kareem Hunt, says Hunt will be a difference-maker for the Browns in 2019.

Hunt’s first chance to make a difference won’t occur until the ninth game of the season when the Browns host the Bills on Nov. 10 because the NFL suspended him for the first eight games of the season as punishment for shoving and kicking a woman in a downtown Cleveland hotel in February, 2018.

Hunt was in his first offseason with the Chiefs when the incident occurred. But the video of it did not surface until Nov. 30 last year. The Chiefs cut Hunt on the same day. The Browns signed the former Willoughby South High School star on Feb. 11.

“He’s an unbelievable player,” Kelce said June 15 before playing in the Jarvis Landry and Friends celebrity softball game at Classic Park. “It ripped our hearts out when he got released from Kansas City. But to see him get another chance, I would hope and I would think he’s going to make the absolute most of it. “The biggest thing was, as much as you try to stay away from the actually situation that happened, Kareem has been nothing but a good friend and a good teammate. He’s been in the community trying to make a difference in other people’s lives. That’s what’s real. Everyone has things that go wrong in their lives. It’s how you come out of those situations that determine your true character. I think I’ll just leave it as that.” So far, so good for Hunt as he tries to repair his image and show his apology is genuine. He has kept a low profile since signing with the Browns. He has lectured youths at area high schools, warning them to avoid the mistakes he made, without drawing attention to his visits. He did not participate in the celebrity softball game. Hunt worked hard during the offseason program, according to Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, and worked hard again in the three-day minicamp June 4-6. Hunt has done only one interview with the media

covering the Browns in the fourth months he has been with Cleveland.

“I’ve been going to counseling, seeing a lady called Shelly,” Hunt said during May OTAs. “She’s really good and I’ve been talking to her and she’s been helping me keep my mind positive. I’m trying to move forward and I’m just trying to just focus on staying on the right path, going out here and giving (the Browns) everything I can.”

Kelce and Hunt have a connection that goes beyond playing together with the Chiefs in 2017 and 11 games of 2018. Kelce was born in Westlake and graduated from Cleveland Heights High School.

Kelce said he and Hunt “have been good friends ever since he got to Kansas City.” Though he did not say he and Hunt went to nightclubs together, he does know exactly what Hunt can do for an offense.

“I think you guys are getting an unbelievable athlete, somebody that can change the game with one or two carries, one or two touches and really give you a chance to win,” Kelce said.

Hunt led the NFL in rushing with 1,327 yards as rookie in 2017. He caught 53 passes for 455 yards and totaled 11 touchdowns — eight on the ground and three on receptions. He rushed for 824 and seven touchdowns and caught 26 passes for 378 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games last year before being released and placed on the Commissioner’s exempt list.