WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – In his first five seasons, Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb was dependable, productive and at times dominant.
He may be the NFL’s best running back, but he’s never been a talkative man. Chubb never actually says much about anything. So when he took the podium after the Browns’ practice on Sunday and began offering lengthy answers about Saquon Barkley’s contract situation, the importance of running back position in the NFL today, and even his own future, it was so rare that Chubb was dropped because of a loss.
“We’re definitely in a tough spot, the running backs overall,” Chubb said. “Saquon is a great player and you can ask anyone in the league or even the Giants how much he means to this team. So it’s hard to see that he’s not getting what he deserves.”
GO DEEPER
Mueller: Why Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs are in this situation and how to deal with it
On the first night of the Browns’ training camp at the Greenbrier Resort, Chubb joined a Zoom call with some of the league’s other top running backs. The main topic of discussion was the reluctance of teams — not just the Giants — to make long-term financial commitments for running backs and to suggest some possible (but unlikely) solutions to help backs who have already played four or more NFL seasons get paid like top players in other positions. The players shared ideas and frustrations about what Chubb called the “myth” that running backs age faster or worse than players in other positions.
“Well, I mean, right now it’s just difficult — there’s really nothing we can do,” Chubb said. “We’re kind of tied to the situation. The biggest thing is that we’re the only item whose production hurts us the most. If we go out and run 2,000 yards with that many porters, next year they’re going to say we’re probably exhausted. That’s the biggest thing I took away from it. It’s tough. It hurts us just to go out and do good. It hurts us at the end of the day.
“I feel like I had to be there (on that Zoom) … and listen to what everyone’s saying, and I feel like it was important for me to be there because we have young guys who are going to be there next like[Jonathan Taylor]Najee Harris and JK Dobbins.” I feel like it was important for them to see my face and hear my voice there to support everyone.”
Chubb is the first player in NFL history to have at least 5.0 yards per carry and 100 or more rushes in each of those seasons for five consecutive seasons, and in 2022 Chubb had a career-high 1,525 rushing yards while streaking a career-high 12 touchdown carries. He did so with a career best of 302 runs.
Even with the Browns poised to open up offense and have Deshaun Watson fully qualified and established as quarterback, Chubb is in for another big season. Chubb said he still feels as valuable to the Browns as ever, and Kevin Stefanski — the Browns’ head coach and game director — said he still thinks the running back position is important.
GO DEEPER
Jackson: It’s time for Deshaun Watson and the Browns to get better now
“It is for us,” said Stefanski. “I mean, in my opinion, we (in Chubb) have the best in the business. I know this (position value) conversation and I know it’s complicated, but we’re excited about the people we have.”
Chubb, who turns 28 in December and has made 1,210 appearances in his career, is under contract until 2024. However, most of the guarantees in the contract he signed ahead of the 2021 season expire this year, and the Browns have significant financial commitments across their offense roster for 2024 and beyond.
So far, Chubb has aged well. So does the team-friendly deal he signed almost exactly two years ago, which included a $12 million signing bonus and $20 million in guarantees. His median annual salary of $12.2 million ranks fourth among running backs, and his 2023 salary cap is $14.85 million. Things could potentially get tough in 2024 when Chubb’s cap number is around $16 million, but the Browns would only have to pocket $4 million in dead money if Chubb wasn’t in the roster.
It’s not as if anyone thinks Chubb will have an underperforming year or that the Browns want to outperform one of the best players — at every position — of the team’s new era. But Watson’s current 2024 cap is $63 million, and even if that inevitably gets reverted to a more manageable number, the Browns still have four offensive linemen under a 2024 cap of at least $12 million, David Njoku at $18.3 million and Amari Cooper at $23.7 million. So it was more than fair to ask general manager Andrew Berry Sunday about Chubb’s long-term standing with the team, and someone did.
“Nick Chubb is the type of player and person that you hope will stay with the organization for as long as possible,” Berry said.
This is of course not a definite answer. And Berry can’t envision anything ahead of a pivotal season for the Browns. But Berry’s lengthy response on position value and the way general managers with roster powers view budgets and contract values showed how the Browns view Chubb — and understand his value.
“If you look at our sport, I think it’s changed compared to — let’s call it the 1980s and 1990s — when a lot of offense at that point was based on maybe having a bell cowrunner,” Berry said. “I think the central protagonist in our sport now is clearly the quarterback, and as a result the market has dictated that these values have shifted based on their effect on winning as these are positions that are the quarterback plus positions tied to the passing game.”
“I think you can see the game evolving over time as it changes. That being said, the rarest thing you can find is someone making a difference, regardless of their position, regardless of your business philosophy. And now we have (in the league) a defensive tackle that’s grossing over $30 million. We have a security guard who makes over $20 million. We have off-the-ball linebackers making $20 million because there are players who are out of line. And when we made our running back decision (in 2021), we felt like we had a superstar in the position who embodied everything we wanted within the organization, so we didn’t think too much about it. It’s Nick Chubb, right?
“So for us it was a pretty easy decision because those critical factors are hard to find.”
To anyone who’s followed Chubb’s reluctance to either say much or fail on first (or second) contact over the years, it’s no surprise that his responses to his own future have included that his focus is on the upcoming season and on helping Cleveland return to the playoffs. He said there have been no discussions between his representatives and the Browns about a possible extension.
If you know Chubb, you know he’s honest when he advocates running backs everywhere, but still insinuates that he’s more focused on passing the Bengals than he is on passing Father Time.
“I’ve got one more year (of my contract) left, so I can easily say it’s no big deal,” Chubb said. “But next year I could be in the same situation. At the moment I still have a year left (and) I’m here, I’m fully involved. I’m ready to work with my boys.”
Just before the Browns reported for camp, a video surfaced on social media of Chubb squatting with an absurd amount of weight at his high school. Chubb wouldn’t reveal how much weight was on the bar in the video, but said it was a personal best. That type of video has become something of a summertime tradition and a kind of subtle message of readiness from Chubb, who played in all 17 games last season and missed just seven in his career.
“I think Nick has proven to be durable for us,” Berry said. “Look, I think you all see on social media how well he obviously takes care of his body and he’s a total pro. We hope he can play as long as possible.
“I always tell Nick, whenever this (video) comes out, I’ll shoot him a text like ‘Nick.’ “This is always my favorite social media clip of the off-season and also the one that scares me the most. It’s a freak of nature.”
Training camp note: The Browns held a walkthrough and apprentice training session on their first two days at the Greenbrier. As soon as competition practice begins, we will share our observations and learnings from the practice fields.
(Photo: Chris Carlson / Associated Press)
The Football 100, the definitive ranking of the top 100 NFL players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Pre-order here.