Browns general manager Andrew Berry has been adamant that running back Nick Chubb wasn't going to have his last carry as a Cleveland Brown be the season-ending one in Pittsburgh last season. The team has, at least, made sure the star back has a chance to return to the field in Cleveland this year.
Chubb and the Browns have agreed to a reworked deal, lowering the running back's base from $15.85 million to about $11.775 million, a league source confirmed for the Beacon Journal. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was the first to report.
The new deal will feature incentives in order for the four-time Pro Bowler to regain some of the money.
The move has been been one of the most expected of the offseason for the Browns. Chubb will be entering the final season of a three-year extension he signed in 2021, but also coming off two surgeries to repair damage done to his knee in Week 2 last season at the Pittsburgh Steelers .
Chubb has no guaranteed money on his deal, which made him a potential salary cap casualty. However, Berry has repeatedly stated the back was, essentially, going to be taken care of this offseason.
"Maybe the easiest thing is we fully expect Nick to be here, and he's doing a great job with his recovery and everything," Berry said most recently during a small-group interview, which included the Beacon Journal, at the owners meetings last month in Orlando, Fla. "And I meant what I said at the end of the season, I meant what I said at the combine. We do not want the injury in Pittsburgh to be his last snap as a Cleveland Brown."
Chubb had his first surgery, which repaired damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL), the medial capsule and meniscus, on Sept. 29, 11 days after the initial Sept. 18 injury. The second surgery, on Nov. 14, repaired the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which he had not previously torn.
As a University of Georgia sophomore, Chubb suffered three torn ligaments in the same knee on Oct. 10, 2015, against the University of Tennessee. The ACL remained intact, but Chubb still needed surgery on the other three ligaments. He returned to action in time for the 2016 opener and eventually became a second-round draft pick (No. 35 overall) of the Browns in 2018 .
Chubb was coming off a career year in 2022, rushing for 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns on a career-high 302 attempts. He had rushed for 170 yards on 28 carries in just over five quarters of play last season.
When will Chubb take his next snap for the Browns? Berry was only willing to go so far into the future to assess that late last month, beyond acknowledging Chubb is doing well in his recovery.
"I think that as we think about it, until we see him in the next couple months, I think the next — call it three — months will be pretty telling in terms of his potential readiness for early in the season," Berry said at the owners meetings. "We are going to be conservative in terms of our approach in our assessment with building the roster because he is coming off of a major knee injury. But I do have to give him a lot of credit. He's done a really, really nice job.
"But I think we'll have a better sense. Don't hold me to it, but I think probably if you ask me that question around the draft, I may have maybe a little bit more of a specific answer."
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Nick Chubb, Browns agree to reworked contract for 2024 season
