Cleveland Browns: Kareem Hunt signing sadly par for the NFL course

The Cleveland Browns have signed free agent running back Kareem Hunt, in spite of multiple assault incidents. Despite Hunt’s troubled and disturbing past, the fact remains that talent reigns supreme over character in the NFL.

It’s been nearly 24 hours since the Cleveland Browns announced they were signing former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt. Hunt was released in November, following the release of a TMZ video from February 2018, which showed Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel hallway.

The 23-year old running back has been the subject of multiple incidents, along the same line, since before he was drafted into the NFL. Coming out of Willoughby South High School, bigger schools avoided recruiting Hunt because of his behavioral issues. The problems persisted into college while Hunt was at Toledo, and obviously continued into his time in the NFL.

Most assumed that the incident this past year would be the last straw for Hunt. And, for a while, it seemed like it was. The Chiefs did the right thing by releasing Hunt, and it looked like teams were staying away from him. For once, talent took a back seat to character. But, we all know how the NFL works. That is to say, mysterious, and often backwards ways.

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Kareem Hunt was always going to get signed by another NFL team. Whether it was the Chiefs bringing him back, or the Cincinnati Bengals or Chicago Bears, who were both open about accepting Hunt, it was going to happen. And the sad fact of football life is that a signing like this is par for the course in the NFL.

The NFL has had problem players like Hunt before, and they definitely seem to follow a pattern. Adrian Peterson was caught beating his child on video. But, he’s talented so he’s still playing. Greg Hardy was a problem child, but there was known talent there, so he still played a bit. Jeffrey Simmons, Antonio Callaway, Josh Gordon all had (or have) problems with the law. But, they’re talented, so they’re still playing, and Simmons is likely going to be a first-round pick.

This cycle was almost broken with Kareem Hunt, but it will now remain par for the course in today’s NFL. Hunt is talented, yes, and if he turns himself around, he could be a steal for the Browns. But as much as one can believe in second chances, there has to be a point where the NFL can step back and actually feel good about themselves.

Kareem Hunt has the right to a second chance, as does anyone. But for the NFL’s sake, and the sake of their largely public relations-driven moral compass, this signing had better be one strike, and he’s out.