While there are some Kansas City Chiefs fans and players that are glad Kareem Hunt is gone, it's not 100 percent. Count tight end Travis Kelce among the former teammates of the running back who misses Hunt and will continue to be rooting for him, even as he plays this season with the Cleveland Browns.
Speaking to the media ahead of Browns' receiver Jarvis Landry's celebrity softball game, Kelce called Hunt an "unbelievable player" before going on to explain how several of the Chiefs felt when the front office released the player.
“It ripped our hearts out when he got released from Kansas City, but to see him get another chance, I would hope, and I would think he’s going to make the absolute most of it.”
A good friend
Shedding even more light on what Kelce thinks about his former teammate, the tight end called Hunt a "good friend." Kelce says he worked hard to stay away from the situation that enveloped Hunt last season when a videotape of him hitting a woman surfaced and flooded the web.
Kelce also said that he believes the person who was on that video was not the real Kareem Hunt. He went on to explain the former Kansas City Chiefs star is someone who has helped the community and given quite a bit of himself. This is the reason that Kelce says he vouched for Hunt when Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield contacted him to get a better feel for his new teammate.
For his part, Hunt has been trying to make sure he lives up to the man that Travis Kelce remembers. Hunt even went through a baptism in order to try and exercise the demons of his past. Kelce and the Cleveland Browns believe the running back has put the ugliness behind him and won't be making the same kinds of mistakes he has in the recent past.
Diminished returns for the Cleveland Browns
While Hunt was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, he was easily one of the best backs in the NFL. He ran for 1,327 yards and eight touchdowns in his rookie season. He was off to the same kind of start last year, running for over 800 yards in 11 games. Then he was suspended for the video and subsequently released.
Despite that kind of production, there are some NFL analysts who see Hunt having a much smaller role for the Cleveland Browns. In 2019, ESPN believes Hunt will carry the ball just 59 times for over 260 yards. That's because his new team has Nick Chubb in the backfield.
The Kansas City Chiefs were able to make Hunt a featured part of their offense.
That is one of the other reasons Travis Kelce believes his release tore the team's heart out. At the same time, the squad was still able to march all the way to the AFC Championship. They're gearing up for another run this year, even as Kelce roots for his former teammate to have a great season.