Former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt showed up on the NFL's waiver wire Saturday and is eligible to be claimed Monday at 4 p.m. ET.
But the prevailing opinion from multiple executives around the league is that Hunt will not be claimed Monday and will become an unrestricted free agent, albeit on the commissioner's exempt list.
"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 will claim Hunt, who was released Friday by the Chiefs after a video surfaced earlier that day that showed him shoving and kicking a woman in February.
"No way, I don't see it," another NFL executive told ESPN.
But Hunt, 23, is still on a rookie contract that would have two years remaining after this season -- at base salaries of $575,000 in 2019 and $735,000 in 2020. The only thing more appealing than a superstar player is a superstar player on a rookie contract.
Although a player of Hunt's caliber would be appealing to teams at that relatively low salary, there is widespread skepticism that will be enough to convince a team to put in a claim.
Most executives, however, also did not expect former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster to be claimed on waivers after his latest arrest on a domestic violence charge on Nov. 24 -- and the Washington Redskins claimed him Tuesday.
There also is a belief among NFL front offices that Foster's situation impacted Hunt's. The sense is that had the Redskins not faced so much public criticism for claiming Foster, the Chiefs might have been more apt to keep Hunt, and even if they did still release him, another team might have been more apt to claim him on waivers.
In the video published Friday by TMZ, Hunt is seen shoving and kicking a woman at a Cleveland hotel where he had an apartment. The incident had been previously reported by multiple outlets, but Friday was the first time the video was publicized.
Hunt apologized for his actions in an interview with Lisa Salters on ESPN's NFL Countdown on Sunday morning.
"It was just a long night," Hunt said. "To be exact, it don't really matter what happened. I was in the wrong. I could have took responsibility and made the right decision to find a way to de-escalate the situation."
Even if another team does sign him, Hunt is on the commissioner's exempt list, meaning he can't play in or attend games until the investigation is over and a decision on potential discipline is made. He would not count against a team's 53-man roster.