NFL writer shares brutal reality about Browns' Nick Chubb

NFL writer Matt Verderame of Sports Illustrated explained in an article published on Tuesday why the Cleveland Browns may elect to either trade or release popular running back Nick Chubb unless the club soon signs Chubb to a contract extension. 

"Before a gruesome knee injury cut his 2023 campaign short, Chubb had played five seasons and never rushed for fewer than 996 yards, with three campaigns eclipsing 1,250 rushing yards," Verderame noted. "However, Chubb has one year left on his deal, counts $15.8M against the cap for a team already projected over the threshold and is 28 years old coming off multiple torn ligaments."

The Browns are coming off an 11-6 record they mostly earned without Chubb, who went down with his knee injury in Week 2, and theoretically should be all-in on chasing more than just a playoff win after they replaced former offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt with Ken Dorsey in an attempt to help quarterback Deshaun Watson return to the form that made him a three-time Pro Bowl selection with the Houston Texans. 

With that said, multiple big-name running backs without Chubb's injury history are on track to reach free agency in March as clubs continue to undervalue veteran players at the position. Verderame was sure to mention that Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry could sign Chubb to a multi-year extension that would offer the franchise some salary-cap relief for 2024. 

"If Berry believes Chubb might be on the downside, he could try and trade him and his $11.775M base salary," Verderame continued. "As a last resort, he could release Chubb and save $11.825M."

Berry likely understands how unpopular parting ways with Chubb this offseason would be among pockets of fans, many of whom view Chubb as the face of the franchise and are still upset over the club's decision to controversially give Watson a five-year contract reportedly worth $230M in fully guaranteed money back in March 2022. Interestingly, Zac Jackson of The Athletic pointed out on Monday that the Browns could "free up almost $35M of cap space" by reworking Watson's deal for a second straight year. 

It's unknown if Berry would spend such available funds to pay Chubb considering the 2018 second-round draft pick is attempting to come back from the type of knee injury that often sparks the beginning of the end of a playing career.