During an interview, ESPN insider Dan Graziano said he would be ‘surprised’ if Kareem Hunt plays for the Cleveland Browns before November.
The Cleveland Browns signing of running back Kareem Hunt raised a lot of eyebrows around the league. In fact, it raised the eyebrows of most people in the United States, even if they did not follow football.
Hunt is currently under NFL investigation for multiple incidents, most notably an incident of him assaulting a woman in a Cleveland hotel last January. The incident was caught on a hotel camera.
There has been a lot of uncertainty about how long a potential suspension will be for Hunt. During an interview with WKRK-FM, 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, ESPN insider Dan Graziano said he would be “surprised” if Hunt plays a down before November.
.@DanGrazianoESPN on @BullandFox re: future of #Browns RB Kareem Hunt: "What the suspension ends up being, I can't say. I think it'll be lengthy. I'd be surprised, for instance, if Kareem Hunt played for the Browns before November."
— Keith Britton (@KeithBritton86) February 15, 2019
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If Graziano is correct and Hunt does not play until November, that means he could be suspended for at least eight or nine games. That is depending on when the Browns bye week falls and if they play in a Thursday night game before November.
Hunt was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list on Nov. 30, the same day the video in the Cleveland hotel was released. Since he was put on the exempt list, he was unable to practice or play for the Kansas City Chiefs. Later on that day, the Chiefs released Hunt.
Just days after the video surfaced, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that Hunt could serve a longer suspension than the baseline of six games for a domestic violence incident. This was because the league found another incident of Hunt assaulting a person.
Towards the end of the postseason, reports started to surface that there were several teams interested in Hunt, even though he was still being investigated by the league. It was unknown which teams were potentially showing interest in Hunt.
The Browns signed Hunt to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract on Feb. 11. Browns general manager John Dorsey drafted Hunt during his time as the Chiefs general manager, so he had already done extensive background on Hunt.
The expectation is that the league’s investigation into Hunt is nearing its end. When the investigation is finished, the Browns will know how long they will be without Hunt for the regular season. It would be surprising if Hunt won a potential appeal of his suspension.
Once Hunt is able to hit the field for the Browns, he will be a part of one of the most intimidating running back tandem’s in the NFL with Nick Chubb. But if Graziano’s prediction about Hunt not playing until November proves to be true, then Browns fans will have to wait a while before getting to see the duo in action.