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The Cleveland Browns have a crisis at running back following the season-ending knee injury Nick Chubb suffered in Pittsburgh on Monday night. The Browns will be without the four-time Pro Bowl selection until 2024, and they now have to turn to the trade market or to free agency to fill the Chubb-sized void.
One solution could be engaging the Los Angeles Rams on a trade for Cam Akers, who appears out of favor at SoFi Stadium. But the more familiar option has been sitting at home and waiting for a call. That's Kareem Hunt, the former Brown who may soon return to Cleveland...as Chubb's replacement.
Kareem visits Cleveland
Hunt and the Browns met Tuesday night, six months after his departure from Cleveland through free agency. The Browns initially released Hunt in part because of a concern that the 28-year-old was losing foot speed -- but with Chubb shelved for the season, Cleveland might return to the Hunt well in search of depth at running back.
Hunt rushed for a career-low 3.8 yards per carry in 2022, a season after rushing for 386 yards and five touchdowns in only eight games. Hunt has never quite recaptured the form he showed during his rookie season in 2017, when he rushed for 1,327 yards and scored eight touchdowns as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. He was released following the 2018 season after video emerged of him assaulting a woman.
A Hunt-Ford tandem?
The Browns seem set to move forward with second-year back Jerome Ford as RB1, and fellow sophomore Pierre Strong is -- for now -- the second-string running back. Ford impressed on Monday night in the loss to the Steelers, when he ran for 106 yards on 16 carries.
If Cleveland decides not to re-sign Hunt, Rams outcast Akers could be targeted in a trade over the coming days. Akers and Los Angeles coach Sean McVay have fallen out again, and the Rams placed Akers on the inactive list prior to their Week 2 game against the San Francisco 49ers.