BEREA, Ohio _ Kareem Hunt uttered "342 days" five times Thursday while addressing media.
It's the amount of time since the Kansas City Chiefs cut Hunt on Nov. 30, 2018.
Now the controversial Browns running back is on the verge of playing his first NFL regular-season game in 353 days.
"I've been counting down," Hunt said, speaking with reporters for the first time since Aug. 15. "I'm just excited. A lot of mixed emotions, high and low. It's going to be a very fun, emotional game, and I'm definitely going to be excited to get out there and do whatever I can to play the role and help this team win."
The NFL suspended Hunt eight games under its personal-conduct policy for physical altercations he had with a woman in downtown Cleveland in February 2018 and a man in Put-in-Bay in June 2018.
Hunt will play in a real NFL game for the first time in nearly a year when the Browns (2-6) face the Buffalo Bills (6-2) on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium, which is about one mile away from the Metropolitan at The 9, where the Willoughby South High School graduate was caught on a surveillance video shoving and kicking a woman in the hallway outside his apartment.
The release of the video by TMZ.com prompted the Chiefs to cut Hunt on Nov. 30. He hasn't played in a regular-season game since Nov. 19.
"I've been able to stay on top of things like thinking before you act and not react to little things and just keeping your emotions to yourself pretty much," Hunt said. "I feel like my emotions were very high last year, and I've kind of settled down a little bit more.
"I'm under a microscope. I'm not trying to put anything in jeopardy at 342 days. I had a lot of time to think about, 'If I get in this situation, how am I going to handle this? If I get in this situation, how am I going to handle that? This happened, how am I going to handle that?'"
When Browns GM John Dorsey held the same job with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017, he drafted Hunt in the third round out of the University of Toledo. As a rookie, Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards and made the Pro Bowl. In 27 career games, Hunt has rushed for 2,151 yards and 15 touchdowns on 453 carries (4.7 average) and caught 79 passes for 833 yards and 10 TDs.
On February 11, the Browns gave Hunt a second chance by signing him.
Hunt, 24, said he has "no doubt" he's the same player he was a year ago.
