Kareem Hunt is an interesting trade prospect but should Saints go for it?

The New Orleans Saints could be a fit for Kareem Hunt, who has expressed his desire to be traded out of Cleveland. Should the Saints go trade for Hunt? 

As the New Orleans Saints grind through training camp and approach their preseason opener, a little bit of chatter has been heard in the distance. “Should the Saints trade for Kareem Hunt?”

Hunt, a former third-round pick out of Toledo by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017, shined bright during his first two years in the league.

Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get to participate in the Super Bowl that Kansas City won during the 2019 season because at the end of the 2018 campaign, he was released by the Chiefs for kicking a woman and lying to the organization about it after the video of the incident was released.

The Browns weren’t afraid to scoop Hunt up and he’s been a nice second-hand option next to Nick Chubb. Unfortunately for Cleveland, however, Hunt either wants an extension or to be traded.

If he’s on the trade block, it’s not hard to see why the Saints make sense. They’ve been a run-heavy team the past few years and Hunt could serve the same role in New Orleans that he has been in Cleveland, only this time he’d do it next to Alvin Kamara, who was taken in the same round and year as him.

Should New Orleans Saints trade for Kareem Hunt?

At the end of June, Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus said that the Saints should add Hunt before training camp, noting:

"The Saints are bracing for a suspension for running back Alvin Kamara after he was charged with felony battery in February in Las Vegas for the Pro Bowl. If it’s a lengthy suspension, the Saints need a better replacement than Mark Ingram, Tony Jones and Abram Smith. Kamara and Hunt could coexist in New Orleans’ backfield, as well."

With the way analysts are talking about the Saints needing to add another running back, you’d think that Kamara was missing the entire 2022 season. As of now, Kamara is likely facing a six-game suspension, which yes, could be the difference between making the playoffs and watching from home but are the Saints in that rough of shape at the position without Kamara available? Kyed seems to think so.

While six games is a lengthy suspension, the Saints aren’t in a deep enough hole that they need to give up a lot to acquire Hunt. If he was a free agent, that’d be one thing, but this would be a trade that would require the team to surrender picks that they don’t have.

Mark Ingram might not be the same star he once was but he’s still a solid option for while Kamara is out. Tony Jones also didn’t shine the way fans were hoping for last year but that was due to injury. Abram Smith, we don’t know enough about yet but fans have high hopes for the UDFA rookie out of Baylor.

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While it’d be fun to see Kareem Hunt in this backfield, the character issues and price tag (because the team would have to extend him once trading for him) are enough to steer clear.