Kareem Hunt Won't Be Charged For Marijuana Possession

According to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal, Rocky River police lieutenant George Licthman told him that they will not pursue charges for possession of marijuana against Cleveland Browns running back and pending restricted free agent Kareem Hunt. Previously, the police had been non-committal on charges, but this was the expected result.

#Browns running back Kareem Hunt won’t be charged with marijuana possession stemming from January incident, police say https://t.co/rXXryNA0mJ
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) March 2, 2020

At the NFL Scouting Combine, general manager Andrew Berry had indicated the Browns planned to place a tender on the restricted free agent back. It's likely to be an original round tender, which would make the compensation for another team to sign him a third round pick, since that is where he was selected when the Kansas City chiefs selected him out of Toledo. To this point, the Browns appear to be intent on bring Hunt back for at least one more season.

While Hunt may not face additional charges from the traffic stop, the content of the stop itself might be. Beyond noting his frustrations with his personal struggles he's having off the field, he said at the time he should still be a member of the Chiefs preparing for a Super Bowl, which they would later win.

Hunt also admitted to the officer that pulled him over at the traffic stop that he would fail a drug test, noting it was the offseason and he was having a good time. The new collective bargaining agreement may just about render marijuana testing in the NFL a thing of the past, but it still might raise some obvious questions about his reliability for the Browns.

The NFL can still step in and punish Hunt under the under the league's personal conduct policy. They are aware of the situation, but haven't commented on it. Given the negotiations and where the league is headed, it seems unlikely they will punish Hunt.

Rocky River's policy on marijuana is to no longer cite people for small amounts of marijuana, which is the reason they are not pursuing charges. It would require the city to send a sample to be tested for it's THC content. The police say they found less than a gram in the car.

From a legal standpoint, Hunt avoids anything beyond the ticket at the time he was pulled over by police. The reports and the video that ended up on TMZ are the only parts of this that may have any legs.