National Football League

Kareem Hunt's trade request declined by Cleveland Browns

Updated Aug. 7, 2022 3:45 p.m. ET

Cleveland Browns running back Kareem Hunt has requested a trade.

Hunt's trade request was reported by Cleveland.com, which noted that the Browns have denied Hunt's plea to play elsewhere.

Hunt, a free agent after the 2022 season, did not practice the past two days in hopes of landing a new contract. On Sunday, he was a full participant.

The former Pro Bowler was limited to eight games last season due to injury. Across those eight games, he rushed for 386 yards and five touchdowns on 4.9 yards per carry.

If Hunt remains off the field, Cleveland's running back room includes Nick Chubb, D'Ernest Johnson, John Kelly and rookie Jerome Ford. The Browns gave Chubb a three-year, $36.6 million extension last summer.

When asked Sunday about Hunt's trade request, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said he wasn't going to "really comment on it."

Hunt was a third-round draft selection of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017. He led the league with 1,327 rushing yards to go along with eight rushing touchdowns. Hunt's 2018 campaign was cut short due to a domestic violence incident, which prompted his release from Kansas City and kept him off the field for the first eight games of the 2019 season. Cleveland later inked Hunt to a two-year, $13.25 million extension.

For his career, the 27-year-old Hunt is averaging 711.4 rushing yards on 154.4 rushing attempts per season (4.6 yards per carry).

Cleveland is also awaiting a final decision on the suspension of quarterback Deshaun Watson. The NFL, which has been pushing for an absence of at least one full season, appealed former judge Sue L. Robinson's ruling last week that Watson should sit out the first six games of the 2022 campaign.