The Cleveland Browns are pleased with Nick Chubb’s progress, but they still don't know when he will return.
Chubb was hurt by a low hit against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 18, only two weeks into the season. The knee injury has needed two surgeries, with the most recent one in November.
Chubb still has some obstacles to overcome, but Browns GM Andrew Berry is optimistic about his progress.
“First of all, nobody wants to doubt Batman. Nick is a exceptional player and individual. He is doing well on his path to recovery but he still has a long way to go.” Berry said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “This past month he actually started running on land.
“After he got hurt he kept his routine like he was preparing for a regular season game. There has been no offseason for (Nick) and he is very determined to get back.”
Chubb seemingly responded to Berry through social media, posting a photo of Batman recovering. It’s a good sign for the Browns that their superhero running back is well on his way to getting back on the field next season.
Browns RB Nick Chubb Playing under New Contract Terms
The Browns and Chubb reached a new agreement in April. He took a substantial pay cut but can earn it back through incentives. He’s guaranteed a little over $2 million next season, down from $11.75 million.
Cutting Chubb could have resulted in even more cap savings for the Browns. But keeping the four-time Pro Bowler in a Browns jersey was a priority this offseason
“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,” 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 Confident in New-Look RB Group
The Browns added to their running back room this offseason in preparation for a situation where Chubb is not ready for Week 1. Cleveland added a pair of veterans in D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines. The team also picked up undrafted free agent Aidan Robbins. They’ll join Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. on the depth chart.
“One of the biggest roster-building challenges is when you’re trying to plan out a position group when the availability of a player is unknown — whether it’s because they’re coming off a season-ending injury, whether it’s because they maybe have some injury history where you know they’re probably going to miss some games,” Berry said. “That can be really tough to plan around. In those cases, we usually plan pretty conservatively in terms of on the more negative side of the expectation for their availability, just because there’s more downside if you assume, ‘OK well they’re going to be on the front end of rehabilitation.’ And we’re going to build the roster that way and then you get surprised. A positive surprise is always a good thing.
“It's a good idea to plan carefully, even if you're aware that you're being cautious in that manner.”
Chubb’s exceptional performance in games is almost impossible to substitute. He has gained 6,511 yards by running and scored 48 touchdowns in 77 games.
