Getty Kylin Hill #32 of the Green Bay Packers warms up prior to the game against the New Orleans Saints at TIAA Bank Field on September 12, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
The Cleveland Browns employ arguably the best running back in the NFL in Nick Chubb, though major questions remain behind him on the depth chart.
Those questions grew more serious after the team updated the status of No. 2 RB Jerome Ford, who is currently sidelined with a lingering hamstring injury. Head coach Kevin Stefanski said Ford is not expected to practice this week leading up to the Browns’ final preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
“I don’t want to go that far ahead,” Stefanski said during a press conference on Tuesday, August 22, when asked if Ford was trending toward playing. “I think he’s making positive strides.”
Cleveland can lean on Demetric Felton Jr. or John Kelly Jr., currently slotted on the Browns’ preseason roster as the third-string and fourth-string running backs, respectively. However, neither has popped off the screen this preseason, which led the Browns to host a visit with former Green Bay Packers rusher and returner Kylin Hill on Wednesday.
“The #Giants worked out free agent CB Will Jackson, per the wire. One of the top names still out there,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport posted to X. “The #Browns worked out RB Kylin Hill.”
Kylin Hill Seeking Second Chance with Browns After Bad Ending in Green Bay
GettyFormer Green Bay Packers running back Kylin Hill worked out with the Cleveland Browns on August 23, 2023.
Green Bay parted ways with Hill last November. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was asked a question about that decision in its aftermath, to which he offered an answer that seemed to impugn Hill’s locker room character.
“There are standards and expectations that are placed on every member of this team that we expect guys to live up to,” LaFleur said. “He’s in a loaded room but regardless of your role, big or small, we expect guys to come to work and be supportive.”
The Packers selected Hill out of Mississippi State with the No. 256 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He tore his ACL midway through his rookie campaign.
All told, Hill appeared in 10 games for Green Bay. He tallied just 11 carries for 31 yards and made one catch on two targets for five yards over that span, per Pro Football Reference. Hill played 27 total offensive snaps and 84 special teams snaps as a member of the Packers. He returned 10 kickoffs for a total of 199 yards.
Starter Nick Chubb Believes in Browns’ Running Back Depth
GettyRunning back Jerome Ford of the Cleveland Browns.
Stefanski told reporters on Wednesday that he currently views the circumstances in the running back room as “great competition.”
“Yeah, I think it’s great competition, obviously unfortunate with [Jerome Ford’s] injury,” Stefanski said. “Unfortunate for Jerome, but great opportunity for those other guys to get good reps out here at practice, getting great reps in the game.”
Stefanski clearly has designs on ramping up that competition, potentially even after Ford’s return to good health, as the work out with Hill on Wednesday suggests. Ford is a second-year player and fifth-round pick in 2022 who has just eight rushing attempts for 12 yards and 30 kick returns for 723 yards on his regular season resumé.
As a result of the lack of experience behind him, Chubb figures to be used as more of a third-down back in 2023 than ever before, which he addressed while speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“Last year I was just mostly [playing] first, second-down, so I kind of gave [opposing teams] an idea of what [we were] going to do,” Chubb said. “But hopefully this year will be different with me doing more things.”
The Browns’ starting running back also spoke to the team’s overall talent at the position and what the coaching staff will do if any of those players is required to step up in a big way this season.
“I know those guys behind me are prepared well every day with coach Stump [Mitchell] and here at practice,” Chubb said. “So I know if anything happens, those guys will be ready to go out there and compete and make plays for this team.”
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Browns Work Out Former Packers RB, as Ford Injury Lingers