CLEVELAND-Kareem Hunt promises to change. The NFL will hold him to his word.
The league suspended the Cleveland Browns running back for eight games on Friday for two "physical altercations," one in which Hunt shoved and kicked a woman in a hotel hallway while he played for Kansas City.
Hunt will not be eligible to play until November as part of his penalty for violating the league's personal-conduct policy. The 23-year-old, who quickly became a star player with the Chiefs before his conduct prompted the team to cut him during a Super Bowl push last season, will not be paid during the half-season suspension, which will be lifted on Aug. 31. He can practice and will be eligible to play in Cleveland's preseason games.
Hunt will not appeal the league's findings, which came after an investigation into the hotel incident and a fight in June at Put-In-Bay island, a resort area in Ohio.
"I want to again apologize for my actions last year," Hunt said in a statement released by the Browns. "I know that my behavior hurt a lot of people, and I again apologize to them. I respect the league's decision on discipline, and I appreciate the time I spent with Commissioner Goodell last week. I'm grateful for my time with the Browns over the last month and thankful to all the people in the organization that have welcomed me.
Hunt's arrival has made Browns third-down running back Duke Johnson expendable and the team has considered trading him.
Johnson has been a valuable and versatile player since Cleveland drafted him in 2015. He led the team in receptions and yards receiving in 2017, but got fewer chances last season because of rookie Nick Chubb, who rushed for 996 yards and scored eight TDs.