Report: NFL's Investigation into Kareem Hunt Could Be Concluded by Free Agency

The NFL's investigation into former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt is expected to be "wrapped up before the start of free agency in March," according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Hunt is currently on the Commissioner's Exempt List as the NFL investigates three separate cases: "Along with the assault on a female in a Cleveland area hotel from last February, there is also an apparent altercation at a club and an incident where he allegedly punched a man at a resort."

Hunt, 23, was released by the Chiefs in late November after video showed him kicking and pushing a woman in a Cleveland hotel during a February altercation.

"I want to apologize for my actions," Hunt said in a statement at the time, per A.J. Perez of USA Today. "I deeply regret what I did. I hope to move on from this."

He was then placed on the exempt list, missing the final five weeks of the NFL season. It's unclear how long of a suspension he will be facing once he is cleared to play, or whether his time without a team to close the 2018 regular season will be factored into the decision.

Per Rapoport, Hunt has not yet spoken to NFL investigators regarding his three altercations. Regardless of the league's findings, Rapoport noted that "At this point, based on the fact that several teams have been keeping tabs on Hunt, touching base and doing homework on him, the likelihood is that Hunt is back in the NFL in 2019."

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy, who previously worked with Hunt in Kansas City, said he reached out to the running back (h/t Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com):

"I talked to Kareem, completely wanting to know how he's doing. We had a good conversation. Here's a kid that I spent a year coaching on offense. It's a tough situation. I wanted to see... making sure that he's OK but understanding, too, the situation that happened is unfortunate for everybody. He knows that.

"The only thing I cared about when I talked to him was literally his personal life, how he's doing. It was a good conversation. He sounded good. But that's it. The other stuff, that's not where it's at. There's more to it than the football, so we talked strictly on that."