After spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Browns, running back Nick Chubb signed with the Texans last week. But he still considers Cleveland home.
Chubb posted a statement on social media praising the Browns’ fans and saying he wants to see the city get the winning team it deserves.
“7 years. That’s more than just time - it’s where I grew roots, found a home, and felt a love like nowhere else. Cleveland, you didn’t just embrace me; you became family,” Chubb wrote. “To every fan who cheered, shouted, and believed- you gave me purpose. To this city, with its grit, heart, and unforgettable spirit: you showed me what true community feels like. To my teammates, only we know how hard we fought every day and night. Relentless effort; scratching and clawing, doing all we could to win games, not only for us, but for the city. You guys kept me going everyday and i will never forget my time with you in the building and on the field. I came here to play football, but I’m leaving with so much more- memories that’ll last a lifetime, friendships that changed me, and pride in calling this place home.
“This city deserves a winning season every year. It’s earned it. This city doesn’t quit The people never stop believing. And my Brothers in that locker room, will never stop fighting. Cleveland’s time is now… and not because they are owed anything, but because RESILIENCE ALWAYS WINS. Just like we preached everyday in meetings.
“This isn’t goodbye to what we built; it’s a thank you. For the trust, the passion, and the moments that made me feel like I belonged here from day one. Cleveland, you’ll always have a piece of my heart. Until we meet again.”
The Texans don’t play the Browns this year, so Chubb won’t meet Cleveland again unless they both make the playoffs — something that seems unlikely but that Chubb thinks the fans deserve to see.
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson was let go by four teams last year, and he had only one offer this year. Johnson signed a one-year deal for the veteran minimum of $1.17 million in what might be his last chance in the NFL.
“They were the only team to hit me up,” Johnson said, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com.
In 2024, the Steelers traded Johnson to the Panthers, who traded him to the Ravens, who cut him. The Texans signed him and then cut him after 22 days. He caught 33 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns in the worst season in his career.
“I don’t like to speak on a lot of stuff, so I just, everybody’s going to have their opinions,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day, I’m the only one in that room that really knows what’s going on. I can only go off of what I know and then try to put out my best effort. But last year is last year. I’m trying to turn and change that narrative and move the right way and just keep going.”
Johnson, 28, earned Pro Bowl honors in 2021 when he caught 107 passes for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns. Thus, he writes off 2024 as an aberration.
“One bad year,” Johnson said. “It’s one year. I had five great seasons in Pittsburgh. I had one year, that doesn’t define me as a player. None of that. My character or none of that. So like I said, everybody’s going to say what they want to say about me, but I know who I am as a person deep down and that’s all that matters to me.”
Enjoy the snow games while you can, Browns fans.
The team has moved another step closer to building a new domed stadium in suburban Brook Park.
Via 92.3 The Fan, the Ohio Senate passed a budget on Wednesday that includes $600 million in state money for the Browns stadium.
The Senate’s plan borrows against the $1.7 billion pool of unclaimed funds. The House has proposed bonds, and the governor wants to increase gambling taxes.
Regardless, all three bodies agree that $600 million is the magic number for the state’s contribution.
Much more work needs to be done, including $600 million in local money. Along with a finding that the Art Modell Law doesn’t prevent the team from leaving Cleveland.
The Browns dialed back quarterback Joe Flacco’s reps in this week’s minicamp practices and head coach Kevin Stefanski said that the intent was to make sure they closed out the spring with as much information as possible about all the players competing for the starting job.
Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders are the other players in the competition and they are all in their first season with the Browns. Flacco played for Stefanski in Cleveland in 2023, which gives him a leg up in terms of learning the offense and it’s given him reason to believe in how Stefanski is handling things.
“I don’t know what the plan is exactly,” Flacco said, via a transcript from the team. “But you know, I trust Kevin and that he has a plan for all this, and, you know, that’s really all I can do. You know, listen, I’d love to go out there and take 120 reps a day and get in the groove and do all those things, but like I said, the coaches have a plan, Kevin has a plan, and my job is to just trust that, go out there and do the best I can.”
Things will speed up for Flacco and the rest of the quarterbacks once training camp gets underway this summer. All of their reps will be monitored closely and Flacco landing at the top would be a good sign that he’ll also be under center come Week One.
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is expecting big things in 2025.
After Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz predicted that Garrett will have his best season this year, Garrett himself said that’s exactly what he’s planning on.
“I look forward to having my best season for sure, and I think it’s trending that way,” Garrett said. “Been really good, and I think everything’s pointed in that direction.”
Garrett began the offseason by requesting a trade and saying he didn’t want to stay in Cleveland because he didn’t believe the Browns could win a Super Bowl any time soon. But he changed his tune when the Browns gave him a lucrative contract extension, and he says he’s not optimistic about his and the team’s future.
“The day I stepped forth here at this facility, with this organization, I’ve had an opportunity to have a platform and to set a standard,” Garrett said. “And I’ve got to continue to be the leader for this team and set that standard.”
The Browns shifted their quarterback reps at Tuesday’s practice so that rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders would get more snaps as the team continues to evaluate their plans at the position.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Sanders said that it’s been a change in “mentality” for him to work at the back of the line after being a starter throughout high school and college, but that “there’s no excuses because when you get out there, nobody cares how many reps you got whenever you get in the game.” That’s why Sanders said his focus has been on the smaller details of playing the position rather than other parts of this year’s contribution.
“My goal is to be the best teammate and to be as polished as I can be,” Sanders said, via a transcript from the team. “So, in every aspect, I view things as I got time. I got time to be able to grow and mature, you know, and be able to understand the ins and outs of the defenses and be able to get the good insight from the vets in the room. So, I look at it as, you know, a plus. Like, I got time to actually be able to really have a great understanding. And whenever, you know, it’s time for me to play, then it’s time for me to play. But I’m not looking too far in the future about all that. I’m looking about every day in practice because I had some misses out there today that, you know, we got to go in there and correct, reads getting in and out drops a little bit faster from under center. So that’s the main thing. I’m focused on the small things, and over time, the big things will happen.”
Sanders will likely have to reorient himself to a different spot in the pecking order once the Browns move from their offseason program to training camp, so that attitude will have to persist if he’s going to make the most of his chances to impress the coaching staff in Cleveland.
Aaron Rodgers is officially in the AFC Central as a member of the Steelers and that means he’ll be facing the Browns twice during the 2025 season.
That will give Browns defensive end Myles Garrett a couple of chances to add Rodgers to an exclusive list. Garrett has sacked 31 quarterbacks over the course of his career and he showed that he’s been keeping track by decorating his house for Halloween with tombstones featuring their names.
Rodgers is not one of those quarterbacks and changing that was on Garrett’s mind when he was asked on Tuesday for his thoughts on Rodgers signing with Pittsburgh.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to put him in the graveyard,” Garrett said at a press conference.
Garrett’s holiday decor may be the main reference, but Garrett and the rest of the Steelers’ opponents will also see their games as a chance to send Rodgers toward retirement sooner rather than later.
The Browns and running back Nick Chubb have officially parted ways, with Chubb joining the Texans this week.
While Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam announced their intention to place Chubb in the club’s Ring of Honor in the future, the current Cleveland players are going to miss one of their former leaders.
Star edge rusher Myles Garrett made that clear during his Tuesday press conference.
“I love Nick. I think a lot of the guys who are in this locker room still feel the same way as I do,” Garrett said. “It crushed us to see him get injured and have to battle through, and then it happened again. So, we want the very best for him. Happy to see him still able to play, still able to do his thing. Want to see him go back to being the player that he was and have a smile on his face, continue to ball out.
Garrett admitted he had lobbied Cleveland G.M. Andrew Berry to potentially bring Chubb back, though it was to no avail.
“That was part of my talks with AB a couple of months ago, asking about the situation with Nick and how that’s going to work out, and how we can get him back here,” Garrett said. “I know he means a lot to the fans, but he means a lot to us in the locker room. So, it’s an emotional blow to not have him here.
“But we’ve got to keep on moving, keep on trucking. We’ve got some very talented backs in that room, some young, hungry guys who have a hell of an example to watch and some shoes to fill. But he’s one of the best to ever do it in the Brown and Orange, and we appreciate everything he’s done.”
Garrett added that he has “no mixed feelings” about Chubb playing elsewhere, saying he’ll still root for the running back moving forward — unless he’s playing against the Browns.
“I won’t put any kind of parameters, expectations, or limits on his future and what he can do,” Garrett said. “He’s broken through all the ceilings that we’ve set forth for him, with the recovery from the injuries he’s had, how substantial they’ve been. And yet, he’s come back, excelled, and been able to play at a high level. It’s tough enough being on an NFL roster. And to come back, being the guy again, toting the rock — he’s special. And I hope he can continue to be that.”
Practice reps in quarterback competitions are always closely monitored and the most watched one this year may be in Cleveland.
Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett are competing with rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders for the starting job with the Browns and the first day of mandatory minicamp saw the youngest players get the most work. After the session was over, head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters at a press conference that was part of a plan to the fullest possible evaluation of all the players.
“We try to be intentional about everything,” Stefanski said. “Certainly, Joe had fewer reps today. That’s obviously on purpose. Just trying to get as much evaluation on the guys as we can.”
The Browns aren’t going to be making any Week One decisions in the immediate future, so there will be a lot more counting of reps to come before September gets here.
The Browns have made a pair of moves along their offensive line.
Cleveland announced the club has signed offensive tackle Jackson Barton and waived center Justin Osborne.
Barton was a Colts seventh-round pick back in 2019. He has appeared in 13 games, including five contests with two starts over the last two seasons with Arizona. He previously played eight games for the Raiders from 2021-2022.
Osborne, who was recently signed as an undrafted free agent, was waived with an injury designation.
