Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb has agreed to restructure his deal in order to remain with the team, at least through the 2024 campaign.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network broke the news on Thursday morning, April 11, via social media.
The #Browns and star RB Nick Chubb have agreed on a reworked contract for 2024 to lower his base of $11.775M, sources tell me and @TomPelissero, with a chance to earn it back in incentives.
Chubb is working his way back from a serious knee injury, but isn’t going anywhere.
“The #Browns and star RB Nick Chubb have agreed on a reworked contract for 2024 to lower his base of $11.775 [million], sources tell me and @TomPelissero, with a chance to earn it back in incentives,” Rapoport reported. “Chubb is working his way back from a serious knee injury, but isn’t going anywhere.”
Chubb will presumably reassume starting duties once he is ready, which will ultimately render third-year running back Jerome Ford to a backup role once Chubb returns.
Nick Chubb Unlikely to Be Healthy Enough to Start for Browns Week 1
GettyCleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb.
Rapoport did not immediately include specific details of the new deal, which will be of major interest considering Chubb’s health situation.
Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reported on the final day of March that, based on her information, Chubb won’t be ready to begin the season from a health standpoint as he continues rehabilitating from multiple knee surgeries.
“I think they’ll go into the season with Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong Jr., D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines, with Hines being slated primarily for return duty,” Cabot wrote. “I expect Nick Chubb to need more time to rehab from his major knee reconstruction and not be ready from the jump.”
An incentive-based restructure already favors the franchise, and the longer Chubb is out, the lower the chances he meets whatever his incentives are. Before Rapoport’s announcement Thursday, the running back was scheduled to play the final season of his three-year, $36.6 million contract in 2024, and his number was set to count more than $15.8 million against the Browns’ salary cap total.
Cleveland will now open up some extra cap space and add to the meager $3.9 million it had at its disposal as of Thursday. Whatever incentives Chubb doesn’t hit will represent actual cash savings for the franchise beyond the lowered cap number, the latter of which will give the team more freedom to sign players via the draft and free agency.
Nick Chubb’s Long-Term Future With Browns Still in Question
GettyRunning back Nick Chubb, of the Cleveland Browns.
The question of Chubb’s long-term future with the Browns remains, despite his agreement to the unspecified restructure. Based on Rapoport’s reporting, the team did not add any new years or new money to its agreement with the star running back, which means Chubb will still become a free agent next March unless the two sides can negotiate an extension.
It isn’t surprising that the Browns aren’t currently discussing a new deal, with Chubb’s health still a significant question mark. The team will decide his future based on how well he can perform after returning in 2024, as well as on the play of the running backs behind him on the depth chart — namely Ford.
Chubb is a four-time Pro Bowler (2019-22) and was arguably the best back in the NFL across that stretch. All told, he has tallied 6,511 rushing yards and 48 rushing TDs to go along with 123 receptions for 1,011 receiving yards and 4 scores across 77 career games played, per Pro Football Reference.
Chubb will turn 29 years old in late December, near the end of the upcoming season.
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Nick Chubb, Browns Agree to Revised Contract: Report