Getty RB Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns runs the ball during a game against the New Orleans Saints at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 24, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
The Cleveland Browns have been eliminated from playoff contention, leaving injured stars like Nick Chubb with decisions to make on whether to play out the remainder of the year.
But for the Browns Pro-Bowl running back, that call isn’t really a decision at all. Reporters asked Chubb if he’d spoken with head coach Kevin Stefanski or any other team officials about shutting it down for the final two games of the season.
“Not at all,” Chubb replied.
“[The foot] felt good, everything about it,” he continued, speaking in reference to Cleveland’s game against the New Orleans Saints last Saturday. “For the most part, I didn’t feel anything.”
Chubb sustained the injury against the Baltimore Ravens on December 17, then missed multiple practices in the week leading up to the matchup with the Saints.
The running back has fallen short of 100 yards rushing in each of the last four contests, per Pro Football Reference, despite ranking among the NFL’s best rushers with 1,344 yards on the ground through 15 games this season. Chubb has also tied his career high of 12 rushing touchdowns this year, though he has not found the end zone in any of the Browns’ four previous outings.
Status of 2 Browns Starters in Question Heading Into Week 17
GettyDefensive end Jadeveon Clowney of the Cleveland Browns celebrates fourth down for the Arizona Cardinals during the third quarter of a game at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Aside from Chubb, two of the Browns other heavy hitters are battling through injuries in hopes of playing this weekend in Washington.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney suffered a concussion against the Ravens and missed last week’s contest against the Saints. He will continue to move through the league’s concussion protocol this week, though Stefanski was guardedly optimistic about the pass rusher’s status when he spoke with the media Wednesday.
“I expect him to practice, so he is getting better,” Stefanski said.
Clowney was a limited practice participant on Wednesday, per the team’s official injury report.
The other injury of note is on the offensive side of the ball and involves starting left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. The lineman sat out practice Wednesday due to an issue with his back and is questionable to go this weekend.
“We are just working through something,” Stefanski said. “We will see how the week goes and see how the next couple of days go.”
Chubb Talks Browns’ Disappointing End to Hopeful 2022 Season
GettyRubbing back Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns runs with the ball during the fourth quarter of a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on October 2, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Pushing through injuries late in a lost season can, at times, feel like a fruitless endeavor likely only to bring dangerous consequences rather than meaningful ones — namely more or worsened injuries to players like Chubb, Clowney and Wills, and poorer draft position come the spring of 2023.
Chubb assumed a different perspective on the circumstances, however.
“It is disappointing for sure,” he said of Cleveland falling short of the playoffs this year. “We had our chances, but we didn’t make the most of it and here we are. We are who we are. We have two more times to go out there and play, and play for each other and play for the city. That is [the] bright thing about it. It is not over yet.”
If the Browns defeat the Commanders Sunday, they open a window for the Green Bay Packers to make the playoffs in the NFC. Depending on how next weekend shakes out across the NFL, Cleveland may also be in position to play spoiler to the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers who remain tenuously in the AFC Wildcard chase with two games to play.