Coming off a second straight 1,000-yard rushing season, Browns workhorse Nick Chubb is looking to cash in. The two-time Pro Bowler is entering the final year of his contract and though the University of Georgia alum currently has no plans to hold out (he attended the team’s mandatory minicamp in Berea earlier this month), the clock is ticking on an extension.
Brilliant as Chubb has been since arriving on the scene three years ago—he finished second to Derrick Henry with 1,494 rushing yards during his breakout 2019—running backs in today’s NFL are largely viewed as expendable with most teams taking a “use ‘em and lose ‘em” approach to paying ball-carriers. Considering the position’s uniquely short shelf life, long-term deals with bell-cow types in the mold of Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley (who went from Offensive Player of the Year to fringe status in record time) tend to age poorly.
Chubb, who cedes most passing downs to Kareem Hunt (a former rushing champ with the Kansas City Chiefs), doesn’t have quite the mileage of a Henry or Christian McCaffrey, but there’s only so much money to go around and with Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward both due for extensions, paying Chubb market value probably isn’t near the top of GM Andrew Berry’s offseason to-do list.
Not that it will do much good, but Hunt has his teammate’s back, endorsing Chubb as a “freak of nature.” “Pay that man,” Hunt expressed to Zac Jackson of The Athletic. “He’s like a brother to me. I love what he does on and off the field. He’s just a great person and great teammate. I hope we can play together for a long time.”
Hunt and Chubb comprised arguably the league’s top backfield tandem in 2020, combining for 2,362 yards from scrimmage and 23 touchdowns on 442 total touches. Coach Kevin Stefanski deserves credit for involving both players with each contributing to Cleveland’s resurgence last year. Despite little traction on a new deal, Chubb, who is due $4.25 million (13th in the league among running backs) this upcoming season, said last week he remains confident the two sides will reach a compromise to keep him in Cleveland long-term.
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