Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is slated to hit free agency this coming offseason, but he certainly won't be the coveted targeted he would have been a year-and-a-half ago.
Chubb just returned from a devastating knee injury he suffered in September 2023, and through four games, it's blatantly obvious that he isn't the same player.
Gilbert Manzano and Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated recently listed their top 50 NFL free agents going into the offseason, and they had Chubb ranked 49th.
They also predicted what Chubb's next contract would look like.
"Chubb returned in Week 7 from a catastrophic knee injury and hasn’t looked the same," they wrote. "Running behind a bad offensive line, he has gained just 163 yards on 3.1 yards per carry. If things don’t change, he’s likely looking at a one-year deal with incentives to reset his value for 2026."
It's going to be very difficult for Chubb to reset his value at this point.
The four-time Pro Bowler turns 29 years old next month, and typically, that age is essentially a death sentence for a running back's NFL shelf life (Derrick Henry may be the exception).
Chubb had previously been one of the best halfbacks in football, having racked up four straight 1,000-yard campaigns between 2019 and 2022. His best year came in the most latter of those seasons, when he rattled off 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
The University of Georgia product was also incredibly efficient, averaging five yards per carry or greater in each of his first five NFL seasons.
But now, it's looking like Chubb is a mere shell of himself, and it will cause teams to be cautious about signing him in the spring.
