The Cleveland Browns face a decision with franchise cornerstone Nick Chubb and there’s some significant uncertainty about the former Pro Bowl back returning after his latest injury.
Chubb suffered a broken foot during a Dec. 15 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, ending his comeback season early. He had battled his way back onto the field following a devastating knee injury in 2023 that required two surgeries and more than a year away from the field.
After his knee injury, the Browns were adamant about bringing Chubb back. The team reworked his contract and left no question about Chubb being on the roster going forward.
“So, our VP of football administration, Chris Cooper … after we got the deal done with Nick, he was like, ‘I’ll be honest, one of the coolest moments that I’m probably looking forward to the most, and may be at the top, is the next time that Nick Chubb runs out of that tunnel right before a game at Cleveland Brown Stadium,'” Browns GM Andrew Berry said in April. “And I think Chris’s sentiments probably speak for a lot of people in this room and a lot of people in the fan base.”
Browns Have to Work Through Situation With Nick Chubb
Chubb’s contract with the Browns is now up and the sentiment from Berry on his veteran RB was a bit different in his end of season press conference on Monday.
“It’s always a challenging situation when one of your cornerstone players, their contract is up. That’s probably maybe a little bit the different situation this year relative to relative to last, where there is maybe perhaps a little bit less control on the club side with it,” Berry said. “Those are all decisions that we do have to work through the next several weeks. We love Nick. He’s going to be a ring of honor player for us, and we know that. In terms of the short term, that’s something that quite honestly, we just have to work through over the next several weeks.”
Part of the hard truth for the Browns is that Chubb did not look like the player he was prior to his latest knee injury. He rushed for 332 yards on 102 carries with three touchdowns. Chubb’s 3.3 yards per carry average was, by far, the lowest of his career.
As a team, the Browns were among the worst rushing teams in the league. Cleveland managed just 94.6 yards per came on the ground. Only the Bengals, Jets and Raiders were worse.
Teammates Think Nick Chubb Will Return to Browns
Chubb has become more than just another player in Cleveland, which will make it tough to part ways with him. But the Browns also have to be realistic with their offer to Chubb, who is 29 years old and coming off back-to-back season-ending injuries.
Perhaps it’s a one-year prove it deal, laced with incentives that can help Chubb if he does return to form. The Browns will be bringing in a new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, which should help their ground game.
Joel Bitonio, one of the veteran voices in the locker room, expressed after Chubb’s latest injury that there should be no question about bringing him back.
“If Nick Chubb wants to be a Brown, he’ll be a Brown next year,” Bitonio said. “That’s all I got for that. He’s earned that, and they’ll figure something out.”
Chubb has rushed for 6,843 yards and 51 touchdowns over 85 games with the Browns.
