Back in April, the Browns and Nick Chubb agreed to a lower base salary to keep the running back in the fold for 2024.
Chubb can earn back the money in incentives and recently said he was grateful to still be with Cleveland after suffering a season-ending knee injury early in the 2023 campaign.
During an interview on NFL Network this week, Browns General Manager Andrew Berry said the Browns never wanted Chubb to be anywhere else.
“I think first and foremost, when we look at any member of our organization, it’s important for us not to lose sight of the fact that we’re dealing with people,” Berry said. “And what happened to Nick last year was very unfortunate. He had no desire to be anywhere besides Cleveland. We had no desire for that to be the last snap that he would take in a Cleveland Browns jersey. And just, quite honestly, he’s the heartbeat and pulse of our team.”
Chubb, 28, has averaged 5.3 yards per carry over the first six seasons of his career. While the knee injury took him out of play for nearly all of 2023, Chubb has been aggressive with how he’s gone about his rehab.
“He’s a selfless individual,” Berry said. “He works hard. He’s obviously an outstanding ball carrier, an outstanding running back. And I said this at my end-of-season press conference, coming into the year, I had a respect level for Nick Chubb that was a 10 out of 10. And coming out of the season, it was probably a 20 out of 10 because this was a person who came in every day — 5:30 a.m. doing his rehab modalities — working as if he was preparing for Sunday. I think that says something about him individually and as a professional.
“One of the moments we’re all most looking forward to is the first time he runs out of that home tunnel for his debut in the 2024 season. So, we’re really excited to have him back and can’t wait to get going with him.”
Chubb took 28 carries for 170 yards in two games last season. IN 2022, he took a career-high 302 carries for 1,525 yards with 12 touchdowns. He also caught 27 passes for 239 yards with a TD.