Most of my early career was spent in newspaper journalism, and it was there that I learned that the most significant work done -- the most well-read, anyway -- was what we called the "courts and cops" section. News, sports and entertainment are all important, but the first thing people look for in their local newspaper is who got arrested.
Reading about NFL news this time of year is similar. Right up there with seeing who got injured at offseason training activities is seeing who had a run-in with the authorities. When I saw something out of the blue about Kareem Hunt on Twitter yesterday, I initially dismissed it as fan trouble-making. But in fact, Hunt was questioned by police outside a Cleveland bar the other night. There was an incident of some kind, described in the original TMZ.com story as a "small argument" with a friend. No one was detained or arrested.
Maybe it will be no big deal. But I have had small arguments with friends before, and usually the cops don't show up. And considering Hunt is already serving an eight-game NFL suspension, any incident at all will catch the attention of the league. Browns fans and those with Hunt on their dynasty rosters will need to monitor the news over the next few days to see if more comes out. Maybe, and hopefully for those people, it won't.
Invariably when these things happen somebody will say "That's why the Browns still have Duke Johnson." And I say, well, no. Hunt is suspended for the first eight games, so it makes sense the Browns would want to have a viable No. 2 running back behind Nick Chubb for the half of a season when Hunt isn't available. And Hunt's also on a one-year deal, so in 2020 -- if he keeps out of trouble -- some team that doesn't have a back like Chubb on its roster might sign him to a bigger contract than the Browns, who do have Chubb, will want to pay.
There was a development in another off-field story yesterday, involving a player selected a whole lot earlier in fantasy drafts than Hunt will be this summer. Ezekiel Elliott will apparently be meeting with Roger Goodell today ("Zeke my man! How's it going?" "Rodgah! I'm great!") to discuss a story from Vegas that did not stay there, since Elliott was handcuffed by police after an incident with a security guard. Elliott has some other off-field stuff on his resume, serving a six-game suspension a while back, and speculation is that this one could also result in him missing a game or two. That possibility makes it easier to slot him 4th among the top 4 running backs in every draft -- I've actually seen David Johnson selected before him recently, believe it or not, which looks a little daft.
In any case, no one will be surprised if Elliott gets hit with a one- or two-game suspension to start the season for whatever incident that led to him being handcuffed. And if it comes out that Hunt's small argument with a friend involved him, I dunno, smashing a bottle over that buddy's head (NOTE: I am not saying this happened), Hunt's status as late-season Chubb handcuff becomes a lot less likely. And Johnson should clearly be selected a number of rounds earlier than he has been.
It's July, so the offseason -- music festival altercations, bar skirmishes -- should be winding down. Soon these guys will be in training camps, on curfews, under team supervision. Fantasy teams will be better for it.
For now, we just wake up, check the scrolling news out of the NFL, and hope none of our favorite players -- or ones we already drafted, or have in dynasty -- get mentioned. When it comes to the courts and cops section, no news really is great news.