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Andrew Berry reaffirms feelings for Nick Chubb, but has no update on Browns back's future
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- Andrew Berry reaffirms feelings for Nick Chubb, but has no update on Browns back's future
INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Berry spoke eloquently in January about running back Nick Chubb . Specifically, the Browns general manager spoke of what it meant to have seen Chubb's season end with a knee injury in the second quarter of a Week 2 loss in Pittsburgh .
"Nobody wants to see that carry in Pittsburgh be the last time he carries the ball for the Cleveland Browns ," Berry said in a Jan. 22 end-of-season press conference. "And obviously there are things that we'll have to work through, but that would not be our intention as well. We obviously will work to keep him on the team."
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More than a month later, the Chubb question remains one which hangs over the Browns. With no guaranteed money remaining on his current deal, which is set to expire at the end of the 2024 season, the Browns could save $11.825 million — reducing his cap hit to just $4 million ― if they were to cut him.
The other option, which remains the most likely option, is a contract restructuring. That would help the Browns get under the $255.4 million salary cap while also "doing right" by the beloved four-time Pro Bowler.
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb (24) is carted off the field after being injured during an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)
Berry was asked to provide an update on Chubb during his 15-minute podium session at the NFL Combine. The update, essentially, was that there was no update.
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"I understand that Nick is a popular discussion point," Berry said Tuesday. "I meant what I said about him at the end of the season. Any conversations that we have with him or his reps honestly will stay between us. If anything were to change with the status, you guys would be the first to know when that does happen."
Chubb sustained the season-ending injury early in the second quarter of a loss to the Steelers when safety Minkah Fitzpatrick rolled into his knee. That led him to have two separate surgeries.
The first surgery, in late September, repaired damage to the medial collateral ligament (MCL), the medial capsule and meniscus. The second, in mid-November, repaired the damage to Chubb's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Team physician Dr. James Voos, who performed the surgery, indicated Chubb would be able to return during the 2024 season. Berry did not want to provide any specifics on where that recovery stood as of Tuesday.
Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb warms up before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns Monday, Sept. 18, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
"Yeah, he's done a great job," Berry said. "You guys know Nick, he works his tail off. He does everything in his power to make sure that he can recover as quickly as possible. It still is very early and we're what, six months away from training camp? So to say anything more definitively than I did in the middle of January, it would probably be inaccurate."
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The Browns were averaging a league-best 202 rushing yards a game through two games. With Jerome Ford , Kareem Hunt and Pierre Strong Jr. handling the rushing after Chubb's injury, the Browns finished 14th in the league in rushing, averaging 118.6 yards per game.
Berry still believed the Browns' running game was effective, even absent Chubb, who had 170 yards through a game-and-a-half . However, he also acknowledged losing him, after four consecutive Pro Bowl season, was a major blow.
"We were pleased with how the run game turned out throughout the year," Berry said. "Obviously Nick's one in a million, and maybe he is one in a billion actually, and so we're not going to get the consistent explosive runs that you get with the best back in football. But we also do firmly believe that the run game is predominantly predicated on the strength of the offensive line and then the actual scheme.
"Obviously when you have a difference maker like Nick and someone who can create at the level that he can, he can truly elevate that area of the game. But we did have to learn to run without him and we were able to do it effectively enough. But obviously Nick is a difference maker."
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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: Andrew Berry stands by feelings for Nick Chubb, won't update future
