Will the Browns Regret Retaining Kareem Hunt Beyond the Trade Deadline?
The Cleveland Browns are slated to have their full stable of running backs healthy coming out of their bye. That's good news. However, for a team more focused on improving with an eye towards 2023, are they going to regret keeping Kareem Hunt, preferring to give his reps to their younger backs?
Hunt is a valuable role player. He's a pretty good blocker and pass catcher out of the backfield. As a runner, he often appears to be running blind, unable to pick the correct running lane, slamming into teammates and opponents alike, churning his legs in hopes of creating a hole through sheer force of will.
Hunt is understandably concerned about his post football career nest egg, which is why he asked the Browns for a contract extension before the season. When they didn't give him one, he requested a trade in hopes another team would. That in itself doesn't make him a bad teammate. Browns general manager Andrew Berry went out of his way to praise Hunt's professionalism in his bye week press conference. Perhaps genuine, it did feel as if Berry was attempting to smooth things over Hunt who might have been hoping he'd be dealt.
Unfortunately for Hunt, the NFL trading deadline was a harsh reality check as to how he's viewed within the league. Reportedly, the Browns were holding out for a fourth round pick. If one was offered, they might have been prudent to accept a fifth round selection.
Regardless, Hunt is still on the team with a defined role. Much like the Tennessee Titans with former Browns back Dontrell Hilliard who comes in for obvious passing downs in relief of Derrick Henry, the Browns rotate Hunt with Nick Chubb and often use Hunt late in the end of halves or if they anticipate doing a lot of passing.
Hunt's play, unfortunately, has not been particularly good as of late with the ball in his hands. Too often, Hunt's chaotic running style, arms and legs flailing leaves him in vulnerable positions to take hits and rack up ailments that add up throughout the season. Even in the one season Hunt played in every game with the Browns in 2020, he did it at times while playing through two and three injuries at once.
Hunt currently has 77 carries for 305 yards, averaging four yards per carry. He also has 117 receiving yards on 19 targets. He has four touchdowns. If Hunt stays healthy, he's on pace for 895 total yards, which feels surprisingly high. Unfortunately for Hunt, he usually starts out hot and then slows down over the course of the year as his body wears down.
It's not ideal that Hunt is averaging fewer yards per carry than Jacoby Brissett at 4.6. Sure, scrambling can create open running lanes but the sheer number of Brissett sneaks in an effort to get a yard level the playing field.
D'Ernest Johnson has been a better runner than Hunt with the Browns, averaging 5.2 yards per carry compared to Hunt's 4.3. Johnson has superior vision and he's simply a better fit in the wide zone scheme the Browns employ.
The key is pass protection. Hunt and Chubb have been the two backs entrusted with that responsibility by running backs coach Stump Mitchell. It's not something the Browns or most any team take lightly and that's ultimately the reason Hunt remains on the roster.
D'Ernest Johnson's experience in that capacity is relatively limited. Jerome Ford, the rookie, was drafted to be Hunt's eventual replacement, but he hadn't earned the trust of the coaching staff before hurting his ankle and proceeded to miss a month due to an ankle injury. Back healthy now, Ford will work to try to earn that trust for the rest of the season.
It's simply too important to leave to chance, especially with the Browns $230 million investment at quarterback set to take the field starting in December. Unless Mitchell can go to head coach Kevin Stefanski and say affirmatively that Johnson and Ford can function that capacity, they likely aren't going to short of injuries.
The best case scenario is that Ford and Johnson can prove themselves in that capacity over the rest of the season and start earning game reps in the process. Ford will be on the team in 2023 and it certainly seems as if the Browns would like Johnson even as he's scheduled to be a free agent. The Browns may look back and wish they'd have gotten a day three draft pick in exchange for Hunt, but if he keeps Deshaun Watson protected and enables him to gain momentum for the 2023 season, it will have been worth it.
Hunt theoretically could sign somewhere else this offseason and generate some compensatory value for the Browns. Given how tepid the interest in Hunt was when potentially paying him a league minimum base salary, they aren't likely to pay him much on the open market. As a result, don't out the possibility that the Browns could simply re-sign Hunt at less than half the $6.25 million they paid him this year.
