Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is making progress as he looks to return from the season-ending knee injury he suffered during Week 2 of the 2023 campaign.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry said the running back is "feeling good," during a Thursday appearance on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima on 92.3 The Fan (h/t Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk).
"He's doing a really nice job in his rehab," Berry said. "Still has got a long way to go, but he's progressing nicely given this point in time."
It is still unclear if Chubb will miss any time during the 2024 season, but the Browns have the depth at the running back position if he does. Jerome Ford had a breakout showing in 2023, and the team added Nyheim Hines and D'Onta Foreman in free agency.
Still, Chubb has been one of the faces of the franchise since Cleveland drafted him in 2018.
His resume includes four Pro Bowl selections and four seasons with more than 1,000 rushing yards, including in 2022 when he tallied 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. He also ran for 12 touchdowns during the 2020 season.
Expectations were understandably high coming into 2023, but he suffered the injury that ended up requiring multiple surgeries. He underwent a procedure to correct the medial capsule, meniscus and MCL in September and another in November to correct the ACL.
It was yet another setback to the left knee that required reconstruction surgery when he tore his MCL, PCL and LCL in college at Georgia in 2015.
Given the uncertainty surrounding Chubb's status, the Browns reworked his contract this offseason to one with a lower cap hit but with the opportunity to hit various incentives:
Ian Rapoport @RapSheetThe <a href="">#Browns</a> and star RB Nick Chubb have agreed on a reworked contract for 2024 to lower his base of $11.775M, sources tell me and <a href="">@TomPelissero</a>, with a chance to earn it back in incentives. <br><br>Chubb is working his way back from a serious knee injury, but isn't going anywhere. <a href="">
Jeremy Fowler @JFowlerESPNOn Nick Chubb's reworked deal, the <a href="">#Browns</a> reduced his salary cap hit from $15.85M to $6.275M, per source. <br><br>Deal gives him the opportunity to earn up to $12.2M in 2024 based on performance levels he had achieved prior to injury.
At this point, the Browns will likely rely on Ford to start the 2024 season seeing how he tallied 1,132 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns in 2023. But Chubb is quite the luxury piece as running back depth and would play his way into significant opportunities if he resembles the version of himself from before the injury.
