Kareem Hunt hurdles his way back into Browns offense in win over Titans

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you forgot what Kareem Hunt looks like with the ball in his hands, he reminded you late in the third quarter on Sunday of the Browns’ 27-3 win vs. the Titans.

Hunt took a screen pass from quarterback Deshaun Watson on third-and-9 with 3:27 left in the quarter. He reached up and snagged a high throw around the Browns’ 20 and, at the 29, the line to gain for a first down, he leapt over Titans cornerback Roger McCreary, who was getting pancaked by Joel Bitonio.

“I knew we had to get a first down so I was trying to find a way and the guy happened to dive low under Joel,” Hunt said, “because I wanted to start running actually, but it was seeing the first down, just jump, instincts pretty much.”

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“I’ve seen that from Kareem so many times over the years,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Doing a great job. He’s a very, very good screen runner, as everybody knows. But he got north, south, immediately jumped over somebody, got us a first. That was a huge play in that moment of the game.”

This is Hunt at his best, a whirling dervish who puts yards before bodily health, who spins and leaps and rarely lets off the gas. And you can bet Hunt didn’t mind getting hit again.

“Yeah, but it hurt,” he said. “But no, I’m good. So it felt good though. I’m going to like waking up sore for sure tomorrow.”

Hunt carried the ball five times for 13 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards. He showed up to Sunday’s game wearing a Nick Chubb shirsey and wore a shirt under his jersey during the game with a 24 emblazoned on it.

“(Chubb) texted me. He was just saying fire emojis and stuff like that,” Hunt said, “and I just said, ‘I love you, bro.’”

Hunt was welcomed to the game with a loud ovation when he ran on the field.

“I thought something was happening,” Hunt said about hearing the cheers. “I’m like, ‘Oh man, oh dang.’ It was pretty cool. It definitely felt good. Put a little pressure on me. I’m like, ‘Alright, I might have to do something sweet now.’”

There were more cheers when Hunt had his first carry, a 1-yard run with 11:11 left in the opening quarter, probably the loudest cheers you’ll hear for a 1-yard run on first down near midfield.

This looked like the old Hunt — not the Hunt we saw last season, but the rejuvenated version of Hunt we saw in 2020 and 2021, when he and Chubb formed, perhaps, the best running back duo in the NFL.

Who can blame him for being happy to be out there?

After last season ended, it seemed his Browns career was over as he hit free agency, but the right situation never materialized. No one goes into free agency hoping they won’t sign until September 20, but that’s what happened to Hunt.

Sometimes, circumstances align. There was the unfortunate Chubb injury and, as Hunt put it in his introductory (or re-introductory) Zoom call on Wednesday, “I’m right up the street from my house.”

So the Browns brought Chubb back. He knows the playbook, the coaching staff, the building, his teammates and he looks like he’s in the kind of shape he was in when he changed the trajectory of his career in 2020.

“We got a long season. I’m excited to get this one behind me and keep moving forward and getting better each game,” Hunt said, “and knocking off some of that, a little bit of rust just from missing camp and preseason and stuff like that.”

The running game was all hands on deck on Sunday, with Jerome Ford starting. He carried the ball 10 times, Elijah Moore carried it three times and Pierre Strong Jr. logged six carries. Even tight end Harrison Bryant got two carries on quarterback sneaks. In all, seven Browns players carried the ball on Sunday.

“It’s hard to fill a guy like 2-4′s shoes,” Hunt said. “So it’s going to take us all. We all got our unique style to play and just got to keep having each other’s back and go out there and play for one another and we’ll be fine.”

For Hunt, Sunday was a great moment at Cleveland Browns Stadium and one he probably wasn’t sure he’d get to have again.

“It was a great feeling,” he said. “Feels good to be back, help the team win and just keep finding ways to win football games.”

Guess you can come home again, especially if you never left.

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