RB Nick Chubb not expected to return to Browns, GM says

A Cleveland Browns reunion with free agent running back Nick Chubb is “increasingly unlikely,” general manager Andrew Berry said Friday morning, after the team added two running backs in the NFL draft.

Chubb, who ranks third on the Browns’ career rushing list, remains unsigned after spending the first seven years of his career in Cleveland. The Browns drafted Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins in the second round of the draft and Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I would say that it’s probably increasingly unlikely,” Berry told 92.3 The Fan. “We do have two young guys that we liked. We think Jerome [Ford] plays a role. It’s basically kind of maybe seeing how the roles shake out in the running back room.

“You’re never going to rule out someone as near and dear to our heart as Nick, and I would expect him to take another step being a year removed from the knee injury. But I’d say a return is less likely, at least in the short term, with us right now.”

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Berry said he kept in contact with Chubb and his representatives leading into last month’s draft but hasn’t been in “strong communication” since then.

Chubb, 29, missed the first six games of the 2024 season as he continued to rehab the severe knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of the 2023 season.

In eight games, Chubb struggled to regain his prior Pro Bowl form. He ran for 332 yards and recorded career lows in yards per carry (3.3), yards after contact per rush (1.85) and percentage of carries that gained at least 10 yards (4.9%) before a broken foot in Week 15 ended his season.

Berry said Chubb’s broken foot has healed and is not a concern.

Before the knee injury, Chubb was one of the most productive backs in the NFL. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, he had rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four straight seasons before 2023, including a career-high 1,525 in 2022. Despite his struggles in 2024, Chubb is still averaging 5.1 yards per carry in his career, second only to Jamaal Charles (5.4) for the highest in the Super Bowl era (minimum 1,000 rushes).