NFL expected to suspend Kareem Hunt but allow him to return in 2019

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 20, 2019, 7:12 AM EST
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Free agent running back Kareem Hunt is expected to be back on the field some time during the 2019 season.

Hunt will surely be suspended to start the 2019 season, but he is expected to learn the length of his suspension before the start of the league year, and he is likely to be allowed back during the 2019 season, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

The start of the league year, when free agency begins, actually isn’t particularly relevant to Hunt, who is a free agent right now. Free agency only begins in March for players whose contracts have expired, not for players who were released, as Hunt was by the Chiefs after video of him assaulting a woman surfaced.

Hunt will surely have suitors. The Bears have already said they’d consider signing him, and they won’t be the only team interested. In fact, it’s possible that Hunt will come out ahead financially, given that he was under contract for a very affordable $677,000 in 2019 under his rookie deal. Hunt is likely to get multiple free agent offers, all from teams that assure the public they’re deeply concerned about Hunt’s actions, while also acknowledging that they’re willing to pay him to help them win on Sundays.

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58 responses to “NFL expected to suspend Kareem Hunt but allow him to return in 2019”

  1. So now Kareem Hunt will benefit financially from hitting a woman? That’ll teach players to treat women properly!! Good career move, Kareem.

  3. The Chiefs should have let the league suspend him, while holding onto his rights, then traded him when the time came that they could do so.
    If no trade partners developed, then cut him

  6. If I were an NFL GM, I’d already have talked with Hunt about signing with us. Face it folks, the NFL only pretends to care about stuff like domestic violence. The bottom line is, if you are a good player, they want you in the NFL, period.
    And I learned a long time ago that the great majority of fans don’t care at all about what players do off the field, they only care about what they do on the field.
    So — I hope my favorite team signs him then recites the usual stuff that they always say by telling everyone they don’t condone what he did but he deserves a second chance and they have been assured by him that he will be a good boy from now on.
    Hunt is only 23 years old and is one of the best RB’s in football. I’d rather my favorite team signs him than have to play against him. It’s as simple as that for me.

  10. I believe in second chances. I think he should be able to play again……..in 2028

  15. He would fit nicely in the Eagles Offense if he wasnt going to be suspended for 8 games. But only a team who already has a decent running game can afford the luxary of signing a player who will likely miss half the season. BEARS!!!!

  16. Hunt from KC. Dorsey from KC. I’m sure Dorsey is familiar with Hunt. Dorsey has Cleveland in the mix.

  17. No thank you. I’m sure he’ll get a job after he’s reinstated and the rationale from whatever team hires him, and that team’s fan base, will be “He made a mistake but he did his time, let’s move on,” but I’ll take a hard pass. I’m all for second chances but the risk is too great with this one; at least for me it is.

  20. All teams other than the Giants, Cowboys and Rams will be in on the Hunt sweepstakes.

  21. So do the chiefs receive anything from any of these potential deals? Compensatory pick? Because it looks like the chiefs had the foresight to pick the guy and coach him, then do the right thing and cut him when he assaults a few people, and now everybody else gets a shot at an elite RB for pennies and he gets a pay raise and the he Chiefs get nothing but the hassle.

  22. Probably an 8 game suspension. The Eagles should join the list of teams vying for his services. If all goes according to pattern, the Eagles’ backfield should be decimated by injuries by Week 8 and they’ll need someone like him desperately.

  23. There should not be a second chance when it comes to domestic assault. No exceptions! The league needs to ban these players,regardless of talent level. And certainly, Teams should not be lining up to sign the offender who was released . It says a lot about the integrity of the interested teams. Win at all costs! Honor, dignity, and integrity are attributes that can only be lost once.

  24. In the short term I imagine he will make more money than he would have next year. In the long term, this is going to cost him millions, if not tens of millions. It will be very interesting to see what he is offered.

  25. There has always been a lot of ugly stuff going on, but we’re just seeing a lot more of it on video nowadays. I think the NFL does a good job protecting their $hield, so they certainly have their ears open to what their customers like. We are their customers. Kneel for the anthem and you’re done. No second chances. Hit women and you get a second chance. Like I said, we’re the paying customers. Obviously a lot more of us can relate to Hunt’s actions more than we can to Kaepernick’s. This is obviously a human issue, not an NFL issue. I guess I’m part of the problem. I’d sign Hunt in a heartbeat. There are a lot of women that watch NFL games too. It’s a crazy world we live in. Enjoy it!

  27. Was he convicted? I thought so, he should be able to play. NFL is a sport, not a justice system

  28. In fact, it’s possible that Hunt will come out ahead financially, given that he was under contract for a very affordable $677,000 in 2019 under his rookie deal.

    This is pathetic. All this talk about a zero tolerance policy towards domestic violence and yet someone gets rewarded for it. Great job NFL. Have you no shame?

  33. I can’t believe the Chiefs gave up on him so fast. I couldn’t have seen them losing the Super Bowl with him. Yes I know he hit a woman but he’s a damn good player.

  35. The NFL is a business and Roger Goodell’s job is to make money for the owners. We, the fans are the consumers. The NFL has been breaking its own revenue records every year, so Goodell is doing a great job of listening to us, and giving us the product we ask for. Goodell isn’t a dictator by any means. He’s the exact opposite. We’re the ones who are actually running the NFL. Who’s money do you think they’re taking? So if you love the NFL, look in the mirror. You helped create the product. If you hate the NFL, look in the mirror. You helped create the product. Stop blaming others and take responsibility for your own actions. It’s easier to say that when you’re not looking in the mirror, isn’t it? Obviously, hitting women isn’t a big turn-off for a lot of us, and that’s not an NFL issue, unless Roger Goodell raised you.

  36. I love football and watching NFL football is, I believe the greatest spectator sport there is. And the cost of that, our desire to be entertained is coming at a very high price. The NFL is a monopoly that dictates it’s own rules and does what it wants. The league is an amoral organization that exist for one reason, to increase the riches of the 32 owners. We are all guilty of pretending it is something it is not. Suspending Kareem Hunt is a strategy to keep half the population appeased under the guise that the league cares and is doing something. All the while the Bears and other teams are chomping at the bit to get him to play for them. And Mr. Hunt will likely sign a deal that pays him 5x what he was making under his rookie deal. Do the ROI on games lost, pay lost, and then look at the punishment…..just saying.

  38. I think everyone who is in favor of banning him from the game forever should simply reflect on their own lives and think of the things that they have done wrong. Hitting ANY person is not right, but there are things that are much worse than that which many of us have likely done in our lives. This 21st century pontificating by the masses is getting really old.

  40. The Chiefs gave Hunt the boot because he lied to their faces. It had nothing to do with the actual event at the hotel. What Tyreek Hill did was unquestionably worse (look it up if you care to check it out), but Hill didn’t lie about it. He admitted it, plead guilty, completed his sentence, and to the best of anyone’s knowledge he has not done it again. Hunt is gone because of the trust factor, not because of what he actually did.

    Secondly, I am seeing a lot of people commenting talking about “zero tolerance”, etc. Where do you get this idea from? The NFL does not have a “zero tolerance” policy for domestic violence. They have never said that nor practiced it.

  41. Hunt might find out he’s not quite as good as he thought if he winds up on a team without a juggernaut offense as the Chiefs have.

  42. Meanwhile the NFL has a backroom deal with the Chiefs in appreciation for their cutting Hunt and helping them avoid Ray Rice Part 2, to call some bogus penalties on the Patriots today to give the Chiefs a better chance to win. Mark it down.

  46. The chiefs knew what he did as did Goodell. They took Hunt at his word to cheat to make sure the Chiefs were at their strongest to beat NE.

    A billion dollar business can’t ask a hotel to see security footage of an employee involved in a police matter?

    Give me a break. The Chiefs and Goodell caught lying again.

  49. Pats caught a huge break not having to worry about Hunt today. So explosive, lit up the Pats for like 180+ yards rushing and another 100 in receptions in past games. Now the game is a pickem.

  50. browniesfansince1969 says:
    So now Kareem Hunt will benefit financially from hitting a woman? That’ll teach players to treat women properly!! Good career move, Kareem.
    —
    Of course. Getting out of a rookie contract is what all good players want. KC releaseing him, and no one picking Hunt on waivers is basically a jackpot for him. Leveon Bell sat out for a year to get out of Franchise tag that would have paid him 15 million.

    It would have been more of a punishment if a terrible team picked him up on waivers. IE, the Redskins should have picked him up.

  51. Everybody always want to compare these players to people in the working world. I’m not taking up for him whatsoever but in the working world a job could not fire you over anything like this or even suspend him. Unless it happen at work or on work property. Just think about that next you say something about how much they make and so on. Now with that said yes he should be suspended. But now let’s be honest from that video she approach him pushing him which there is a assault on her part. Now he could has assaulted her off camera that we don’t know. Now with that said yes he should had just walked away but don’t let the facts get in the away.

  52. A huge gift for the Bears. They don’t have any 1st round picks in 2019 and 2020. All they have to do is suppress some principles and they get a 1st Round value.

  54. So you think the teams are any less concerned than you are?
    You think their platitudes are any more disingenuous and self-serving than your’s are?
    You think their profiting from Mr. Hunt is any more of an affront than your profiting from him is?

  55. You look at it, this should be treated just like any other first time domestic violence case. 6 games I think??? They were definitely superbowl bound with him as the rb, now they might become another of bradys victims. He let not only the team down, but everybody who looks up to him down because he couldn’t control his self. I hope young guys will learn from those mistakes…..I mean how many examples do we need people?

  56. lanman11 says:
    January 20, 2019 at 11:57 am
    Meanwhile the NFL has a backroom deal with the Chiefs in appreciation for their cutting Hunt and helping them avoid Ray Rice Part 2, to call some bogus penalties on the Patriots today to give the Chiefs a better chance to win. Mark it down.

    So does the mean the Patriot’s wont get their usual 4 ” Pass interference automatic first down ” ?

  57. Thats right only in the NFL can u get more $$$ hitting a woman. Get over it! Nothing a 12 week DV class cant fix. Go KC!!

  58. He is getting more money because the Chiefs release him from his contract and his free market value exceeds his rookie deal. More running backs should set up phoney situation to get our their rookie deals.

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