Last summer, Browns running back Kareem Hunt thought he deserved more money. Now that he’s a free agent, he’s finding that NFL teams don’t think he deserves much.
Hunt will not be back in Cleveland, where the Browns think his speed is slipping, according to Terry Pluto, cleveland.com.
Last year Hunt averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry and a career-low 6.0 yards per catch, so the numbers would seem to confirm the sense that Hunt doesn’t have the big-play speed he had earlier in his career.
Hunt is 27, which might not seem old, but running backs don’t age well. Hunt’s best days may be behind him.
It’s been a rough year to be a free agent running back, as NFL teams are increasingly concluding that they can get just as much production from young running backs on cheap contracts as they can from veteran free agents. Hunt joins Jerick McKinnon, Ezekiel Elliott, Leonard Fournette, J.D. McKissic, Mark Ingram and other well-known veteran running backs who aren’t generating much interest.