NFL training camp 2022: Kareem Hunt reportedly skipping Browns drills, wants new contract

Kareem Hunt is skipping drills at Cleveland Browns training camp as he seeks a contract extension, according to multiple reports.

CBS' Josina Anderson reports that Hunt is participating in individual drills but skipped team drills for the second consecutive day on Saturday. The sixth-year running back was previously a full participant at training camp. Per Anderson and Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot, the Browns are fining Hunt for the skipped drills

Hunt, 27, is in the second year of a two-year, $12 million contract. Cabot reports that he wants an extension to the expiring deal and told the Browns that he wants to finish his career in Cleveland.

Hunt joined the Browns in 2019 after two standout seasons to start his NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. He made the Pro Bowl and led the NFL in rushing with 1,327 yards as a rookie in 2017. The Chiefs released him in 2018 after video surfaced of Hunt shoving a woman and kicking her on the floor of a Cleveland hotel hallway.

The Browns then signed Hunt to a one-year, $1.1 million contract for 2019. He forfeited half his salary that season as he eventually served an eight-game suspension from the NFL related to the hotel incident. Hunt eventually signed another one-year deal for 2020 prior to the two-year contract he now wants extended.

Hunt has played a reduced role in Cleveland while backing up three-time Pro Bowl running back Nick Chubb. He's remained a productive player in his limited role, having tallied 2,169 yards from scrimmage (67.7 per game) and 19 touchdowns in 32 games with the Browns, his hometown team.

Chubb remains atop the depth chart while third-year running back D'Ernest Johnson broke out as a reliable backup in 2021 with 534 yards and three touchdowns on 100 carries. Neither Hunt nor the Browns have addressed the subject publicly.