Getty Images Running back Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns are one of the few franchises paying big money to their starting running back, but most NFL rushers aren’t Nick Chubb.
Backs around the league are galvanizing in an attempt to stop the steady devaluation of their position in the perception of franchise decision makers, along with the corresponding decline in financial compensation. Chubb confirmed to reporters on Sunday, July 23, that he had taken part in a Zoom conference call the day before with other prominent RBs from around the NFL and then offered his thoughts on the situation.
“They say we get hit every play and we’re more injury prone and we’re all on the field doing the same thing. But only that applies to us, ” Chubb said. “If we’re taking the most risk doing the most, then we should be valued more.”
Chubb also discussed the status of the position in the context of his own situation in Cleveland.
#Browns Nick Chubb said next year the contract situation could be him.
“It’s easy for me to say it’s not a big deal but, you know, next year it could be me in the same situation,” Chubb admitted. “But for right now, I do got one more year. But I’m here, I’m all-in, I’m ready to work with my guys.”
Browns Nick Chubb Says NFL’s Thinking on RBs in Backward
GettyRunning back Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns.
Chubb mentioned San Francisco 49ers back Christian McCaffrey, Tennessee Titans rusher Derrick Henry and New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley by name as players who joined him on the Saturday Zoom call. Chubb said the participants shared several perspectives of value, though one point resonated with him more than any other.
“Our production hurts us the most,” Chubb said. “If we go out there and run for 2,000 yards with so many carries then next year they’re gonna say, ‘You’re probably worn down.’ That’s the biggest thing I took from it.”
Barkley is currently embroiled in a holdout with the Giants, as the team applied the franchise tag to the back after one of the two best statistical seasons of his career in 2022. A similar situation is playing out with the Las Vegas Raiders and their All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs, while Austin Ekeler also butted heads with the Los Angeles Chargers over a new deal this offseason.
The Minnesota Vikings‘ release of four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook as well as recent pay cuts for Joe Mixon of the Cincinnati Bengals and Aaron Jones of the Green Bay Packers are all part of the conversation to which Chubb contributed Sunday.
Browns General Manager Andrew Berry Speaks Glowingly of Nick Chubb, but Actions Will Speak Louder
GettyGeneral manager Andrew Berry of the Cleveland Browns.
Chubb won’t be facing the rigors of contract negotiations until next offseason, as he enters the second year of a three-year, $36.6 million deal in 2023. Chubb’s current contract makes him the fourth highest-paid player at the position based on annual average salary, per Over The Cap.
The Browns RB has earned that paycheck by making four consecutive Pro Bowls since 2019, running for at least 1,000 yards in each campaign and an average of 10 rushing touchdowns per year. He was an early second round pick (No. 35 overall) of Cleveland in 2018.
Browns general manager Andrew Berry spoke reverently of Chubb on Sunday.
“Nick Chubb is the kind of player you hope is with the organization as long as possible,” Berry said, adding that the RB is a “difference maker” and a “superstar.”
Chubb is expected to again be one of the NFL’s elite backs in 2023 before becoming extension eligible in the spring of 2024. The better test of how Berry and the Browns actually feel about their running back won’t be Berry’s comments now, or even his comments a year from now. It will be what kind of security Cleveland is willing to offer Chubb in terms of contract years and annual average salary.
Whatever the case, Chubb’s long-term future with the Browns will be a fascinating storyline in 2024, as the running back approaches his seventh professional season and 29 years of age.