CLEVELAND — Kareem Hunt is headed home.
The Cleveland Browns have signed the 28-year-old running back from Willoughby following Pro Bowler Nick Chubb's season-ending injury.
According to ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter, Hunt has signed a 1-year deal with Cleveland worth up to $4 million.
Hunt, who previously played for the Browns between 2019-22, scored 23 touchdowns with the team. The 28-year-old University of Toledo product elected to test free agency following a disappointing 2022 season. In 17 games, Hunt averaged just 3.8 yards per carry, gaining 468 yards in 123 attempts. He also caught 35 passes for just 210 yards, scoring four total touchdowns.
Before the 2022 season began, Hunt asked to be traded when the team denied his request for an extension, but the team declined, and the 27-year-old subsequently returned to practice with head coach Kevin Stefanski saying there was "no distraction." He became a free agent and had visits with the Vikings, Saints, and Colts prior to the start of the 2023 regular season. Each time, he left with no contract.
Hunt's journey back to his hometown was a rocky one: He led the league in rushing as a rookie with Kansas City in 2017, but was later released in the middle of the next season after video surfaced of him kicking and assaulting a woman at the Metropolitan at The 9 hotel in Downtown Cleveland. Following "extensive due diligence," the Browns decided to sign Hunt that winter, with the running back apologizing for his actions and eventually serving an eight-game suspension in 2019.
3News' Dave DeNatale contributed to this story.
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