Kareem Hunt Reportedly Expected to Go Unclaimed on Waivers

Kareem Hunt was released by the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday after TMZ released hotel surveillance footage showing the running back hitting and shoving a woman in February.

According to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Hunt is unlikely to get claimed before Monday's deadline at 4 p.m. ET:

"'I don't think anyone claims him,' one general manager told ESPN.

"Another GM told ESPN that there is 'no chance' that Hunt gets claimed while a third GM said he 'can't imagine' a team claiming Hunt, who was released Friday by the Chiefs after video surfaced earlier in the day that showed him shoving and kicking a woman in February.

"'No way, I don't see it,' another NFL executive told ESPN."

If Hunt is claimed, it could be a while before he sees the field again. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com elaborated on Hunt's potential future:

"According to sources with direct knowledge of the situation, Hunt faces more than the baseline six-game suspension for violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy. The league also has been investigating an incident involving Hunt allegedly punching a man in the face at an Ohio resort in June. The NFL is believed to have found enough from that incident to add to Hunt's discipline.

"Since penalties for two incidents aren't likely to be served independently of each other—and because the clock on a suspension doesn't begin when a player is on the Reserve/Commissioner Exempt List—Hunt could sit out not only the rest of the 2018 season, but well into the 2019 season."

The altercation occurred at a Cleveland hotel in February. The video showed Hunt rushing the woman and later kicking her while she was lying on the ground. Hunt was then interviewed by the Chiefs after the altercation, per Albert Breer of The MMQB, telling the team he wasn't involved, which other witnesses reportedly corroborated. 

The NFL reportedly did not interview either Hunt or the woman. The league did try to obtain the tape from the hotel, per Rapoport, though the hotel said it would only release the video to police. 

The Chiefs released a statement Friday accompanying Hunt's release:

"Earlier this year, we were made aware of an incident involving running back Kareem Hunt. At that time, the National Football League and law enforcement initiated investigations into the issue. As part of our internal discussions with Kareem, several members of our management team spoke directly to him. Kareem was not truthful in those discussions. The video released today confirms that fact. We are releasing Kareem immediately."

Hunt apologized in a brief statement of his own.

"I deeply regret what I did," he said, per Schefter. "I hope to move on from this."

He also spoke to ESPN's Lisa Salters in a televised interview Sunday morning: 

Regardless of whether Hunt is claimed, he'll remain ineligible to play as he's currently on the Commissioner's Exempt List. In essence, Hunt is currently indefinitely suspended while he awaits the NFL's ruling on his official suspension.