Browns running back Kareem Hunt has requested a trade, but the team has told him they will not honor that request, Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot reports. Hunt held out of team drills on Friday and Saturday as a way to let Cleveland know he was unhappy with his contract.
Cabot adds that Hunt began to express a desire for a new extension in June, but there have yet to be meaningful talks.
Hunt is in the final year of a two-year, $13.25 million extension. He has spent the last three seasons with Cleveland, highlighted by an 841-yard, six-touchdown season in 2020. After signing the extension the following offseason, Hunt battled injuries last year, playing in just eight games all season.
While he has been solid for the Browns, Hunt has yet to recreate his 2017 rookie season with the Chiefs, when he rushed for a league-leading 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns.
However, Hunt remains behind Nick Chubb on the depth chart. Despite the Browns’ intent on getting both running backs involved, Chubb will remain the lead back after three straight 1,000-yard seasons and four straight seasons with at least eight touchdowns.
Cleveland has used Hunt in more receiving roles than Chubb since both have been teammates, with Hunt leading Chubb in both receptions and receiving yards since 2019. The Browns have Chubb signed through 2024 thanks to a three-year, $36 million contract that begins this season.
This isn’t new territory for the Browns, who originally denied Baker Mayfield’s trade request in March before trading for Deshaun Watson.
