Browns' Freddie Kitchens on Duke Johnson Trade Request: It Doesn't Matter to Me

Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens is apparently unbothered by Duke Johnson's trade request. 

"At this present time, it is best for Duke Johnson to be a member of the Cleveland Browns and everybody feels that way. Him asking for a trade and stuff like that, it doesn't matter to me," Kitchens told reporters Saturday. "He is a Cleveland Brown. If he shows up, Duke is the type of guy that is going to show up and he is going to do his job. He is going to do his job well. That is all I can ask for as a coach. His opinions and his demands and stuff like that, I'm not impacted by that one bit."

Johnson requested a trade this offseason after the Browns acquired Kareem Hunt, who will be suspended for the first eight games of the 2019 season. Heading into his fifth NFL season, Johnson has three years remaining on his contract. He rushed for a career-low 201 yards and added 429 in the receiving game in 2018.

"Duke is under contract. I have said this for like a month now, I don't know where all this trade talk started happening," Kitchens said. "People just assumed that we are going to trade him because we signed another good football player. Me, personally, I like good football players, and I like as many of them as we can get.

"Duke Johnson is on this football team, Duke Johnson will have a vital role in this football team and Duke Johnson will help us win football games. Am I surprised that he's still here? No, not one bit. I haven't wavered and never said anything different other than that."

Johnson will likely continue having a regular role in the passing game, at least until Hunt returns to the lineup. Nick Chubb is still a work in progress as a pass-catcher, and it's likely the Browns view Johnson as a vital cog in the timeshare.

Hunt is also a gamble from an organizational perspective after he was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs last November following footage of him kicking and shoving a woman in a Cleveland hotel being released. While Hunt was a Pro Bowl-caliber player in Kansas City, he's one mistake away from potentially never playing football again.

From a strictly logical standpoint, the Browns have to keep Johnson for now as insurance. Johnson will in all likelihood show up when workouts become mandatory to avoid being fined.