The decisions of the Cleveland Browns on draft night may show how the team feels about Nick Chubb’s future with the franchise.
The Browns don’t have a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, which is happening April 25-27. Cleveland’s first pick comes in the second round at No. 54 overall. The Browns don’t have a pressing need they have to deal with using that pick, so the team could choose to go in many different directions based on how things play out.
Browns insider Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland thinks that Chubb may be done if the team chooses a running back with their first pick.
“For one thing, the team’s offense is totally different now from when Nick joined the team. It’s going away from the running game,” Grossi said during an ESPN Cleveland radio appearance on April 24. “If they [draft a running back at No. 54], I would conclude they have no hope of Nick Chubb playing again.”
Browns Changed Nick Chubb’s Contract
Getty ImagesThe Browns have indicated that they expect Nick Chubb to come back to the field next season at some point.
All the Browns’ statements have indicated otherwise. The team has remained adamant that Chubb will play at some point next season, although an exact timeline for his return remains uncertain. Chubb is still on the road to recovery following a devastating knee injury he suffered in September of 2023.
Chubb and the Browns agreed to a restructured contract this offseason. The move reduced Chubb’s base salary of about $12 million and converted much of that into incentives. It lowered Chubb’s cap hit to a manageable $6.275 million.
“Yeah, I won’t comment in detail on the contract, other than to say that I think that whenever you go through a situation like that, I think people think it’s easy for a club, an agent, to be adversarial,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said on April 18. “And, you know, with Nick’s situation, I really applaud Nick and then his reps, Todd France and A.J. Stevens, for being really collaborative partners and finding a solution that worked for everybody.
“You know, I think everybody in this room is happy that Nick is back as a Cleveland Brown and we’re very optimistic that he’s going to crush the rehab.”
Browns Added Depth Behind Nick Chubb
Getty ImagesThe Browns added D’Onta Foreman in free agency.
The Browns are expecting Chubb’s return but aren’t relying entirely on him to carry the workload. Cleveland has Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. from last year’s squad.
Ford took on the lead back role last season with Chubb sidelined. He ended the season with 813 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, averaging 4.0 yards per carry.
The Browns also added some veteran depth this offseason, bringing in D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines. Foreman is expected to play the Kareem Hunt-type role, while Hines is better known for his pass-catching and kick-return abilities.
“Depth is important at every position, we were really pleased with that room last year,” Berry said. “I thought Jerome and Pierre in particular, you know, did an incredible job filling in last year, and then obviously we had Kareem (Hunt) in those high leverage and short yardage moments. But Jerome and Pierre, they got obviously a lot of time and a lot of reps last year and feel very good about their skillset. We’ve added a couple of guys to that room with differing skill sets that can complement those guys, but we think we’re in a pretty strong spot.”
Including a fit Chubb to the group would just make that team even stronger. The four-time Pro Bowler has run for 6,511 yards and 48 touchdowns in 77 games.
