Browns Pump Brakes on Nick Chubb’s Return Against Bengals

Nick Chubb will be back on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns meet the Cincinnati Bengals, but it’s still to be determined how involved he’ll be.

Chubb has been sidelined since Week 2 of the 2023 season after suffering a serious knee injury following a low hit in the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The injury required two surgeries and extensive rehab, but now Chubb is finally set to make his highly anticipated return.

His presence will undoubtedly energize the home crowd, though the Browns are still determining how much of the workload Chubb will handle in his first game back.

“I think as we go through the week, we’re still early in terms of that evaluation of where he’s at, in terms of workload and those types of things,” Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said on Thursday. “So, I think that’s still a work in progress. We want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing for us and for Nick to make sure that he’s available for the long term. So, we’re going to constantly evaluate that throughout the week, and we’re not going to rush any decisions on how much, what plays, what anything in terms of Nick. We’re not going to rush any decisions on that.”

Nick Chubb, Browns Don’t Have Time to Wait After 1-5 Start

The Browns aren’t in a position to be patient. Sitting at a disappointing 1-5, Cleveland needs to turn things around immediately if they want to salvage their season and stay in contention.

Cleveland’s offense has been a mess during their slow start. The Browns are averaging an NFL-low 240.2 yards per game and haven’t scored more than 18 points in a game this season. The team will also be without top wide receiver Amari Cooper, who was traded to the Buffalo Bills this week for a third-round pick.

“I think our guys get that the number one thing here is to win. Number one thing is to compete,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “The truth is you do lose guys throughout the course of a season. Sometimes it’s due to injury, sometimes it’s due to trade, whatever it may be, and our guys have to step up when that time comes.”

There are questions around the availability of Jerome Ford for the matchup with the Bengals. Ford — who has taken on the lead-back duties with Chubb out — injured his hamstring against the Commanders and has yet to practice this week. Pierre Strong Jr. and D’Onta Foreman are the other options for the Browns.

Nick Chubb Thankful Browns Remained Loyal After Injury

Chubb restructured his contract this offseason, significantly lowering his 2024 salary cap hit from $15.85 million to $6.275 million. The new deal includes performance-based incentives, giving Chubb the opportunity to earn up to $12.2 million if certain benchmarks are met.

Chubb had no guaranteed money left on his deal and is thankful that the team decided to stand by him.

“When my agent called me to tell me the news, he said, ‘I’ve never actually had a front office tell me anything like this. But they said that part of the reason they never entertained cutting you is because of how much you mean to the city,'” Chubb wrote in a column for “The Players’ Tribune.”

“That really meant the world to me. Look, I know the deal. I had no guaranteed money left. The Browns had all the leverage. They could’ve left me high and dry, like so many guys in this league. But they had my back. You all had my back.”

When healthy, Chubb is among the best running backs in the league. He has collected 6,511 yards and 48 touchdowns in his career. Chubb averages an elite 5.3 yards per carry.