The Cleveland Browns have leaned on Nick Chubb in the backfield since drafting him out of Georgia in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Chubb went down early in 2023 with a season-ending injury and there has been plenty of speculation about his future in Cleveland.
Despite posting four-straight seasons with over 1,000 yards rushing from 2019 to 2022, the Browns running back has been at the forefront of trade rumors for the last year, even before getting hurt in 2023, due to the team’s salary cap issues because of their unprecedented contract with Deshaun Watson.
The issue the Cleveland Browns face with Nick Chubb is his contract. He’ll count $15.8 million against the cap and the Browns can save almost $12 million by releasing him. Parting ways with Chubb would have seemed like blasphemy at one point. But he’ll turn 29 next season and is coming off a serious injury.
With Chubb likely out for a chunk of next season, the Browns need to find a sustainable solution in their backfield. Jerome Ford took on the lead back role last season with Chubb sidelined. He finished as the Browns’ leading rusher with 813 yards on 204 carries.
The Browns brought back Kareem Hunt shortly after Chubb’s injury. He collected 411 yards on 135 carries, averaging a very pedestrian 3.0 yards per carry. However, he was a strong option in short-yardage situations. He tallied a team-high nine rushing touchdowns during the regular season and scored two more — one receiving and one rushing — in a Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans.
Cleveland Browns Have No Plans On Parting Ways With Nick Chubb
In a recent press conference, Browns GM Andrew Berry expressed a sincere desire to retain Chubb moving forward.
“In terms of Nick moving forward, obviously, I understand that’s a little bit the elephant in the room,” Berry said on January 22. “Nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh, be the last time he carries the ball for the Cleveland Browns. And obviously there are things that we’ll have to work through, but that would not be our intention as well. We obviously will work to keep him on the team.”
Aaron Schatz of ESPN predicts instead of parting ways, the Cleveland Browns could bank on NIck Chubb looking like his old self once he’s healthy and ink him to an extension.
“Despite questions about his return from a knee injury, the Browns will sign Chubb to an extension which will allow them to keep him past the 2024 season, while also lowering his cap charge to help the Browns get under the number,” Schatz predicted on January 21. “A big running back contract may surprise some coming from the analytically forward Browns, but advanced analytics generally portray Chubb as one of the few running backs who truly makes a difference. (For example, he always excels at the NFL Next Gen Stats rushing yards over expectation metric, where he leads the NFL since 2021 with 597.)”
Chubb has proved himself as one of the hardest workers in the NFL and it will be no surprise if he returns from the injury even stronger than he was before. The Browns appear to be heading toward the right decision.