Browns Send Message to Nick Chubb After Hefty Pay Cut

Getty Images The Browns are happy with how contract negotiations worked out with Nick Chubb.

Nick Chubb took a significant pay cut to stick around with the Cleveland Browns and the team commended their Pro Bowl back for how he and his reps dealt with the situation.

Chubb was set to enter this season with a base salary of $11.775 million. The catch was that none of the money was guaranteed. The Browns could have cut Chubb and saved $11.825 million with around $4 million in dead cap space.

Chubb’s new deal is worth $2.275 million — a $9.5 million reduction from his previous salary. However, the contract is laced with incentives, and Chubb could earn all the money back.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry acknowledged that the situation had the potential to be contentious. But Chubb — in his typical fashion — handled it with grace.

“I won’t comment in detail on the contract, other than to say that I think that whenever you go through a situation like that, I think people think it’s easy for a club and agent to be adversarial. And with Nick’s situation, I really applaud Nick and then his reps, Todd France and A.J. Stevens for being really collaborative partners and finding a solution that worked for everybody,” Berry said on Thursday, April 18. “I think everybody in this room is happy that Nick is back as a Cleveland Brown and we’re very optimistic that he’s going to crush the rehab.”

Browns Confident Nick Chubb Will Bounce Back

Getty ImagesBrowns RB Nick Chubb has been working relentlessly during his rehab.

It’s a win-win for both sides, with Chubb still working his way back from a devastating knee injury. He’s in the building doing rehab but will not join team activities any time soon.

An exact timeline for Chubb’s return is still unknown. But Berry and the rest of the Browns’ brass are confident that Cleveland’s “Batman” is doing all he can to get back on the field.

“With Nick, in his rehab, I think you guys have heard me say he’s really attacked it very aggressively, really since he’s been able to in the fall,” Berry said. “He’s going at a good pace. It’s still early. He actually started running on land this past week. That’s not to say that he’s through the woods or anything, but he’s doing everything in his power. He’s progressing appropriately, but certainly the next few weeks, next few months will be big as we continue to increase the load that he’s able to put on his knee, and then how much he’s ultimately able to do during his training.”

When healthy, Chubb is among the best running backs in the league. Through six seasons, Chubb has rushed for 6,511 yards and 48 touchdowns. His career 5.3 yards per carry speaks to his elite consistency.

Browns Added Depth at Running Back

Getty ImagesCleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford held down the backfield with Nick Chubb sidelined.

The Browns are confident that Chubb will return at some point next season. However, the team worked to add depth to their backfield. Cleveland added Nyheim Hines and D’Onta Foreman in free agency. Hines can contribute in the return game and as a pass-catcher. Foreman is expected to handle the short-yardage work, similar to what Kareem Hunt did previously.

“Depth is important at every position, we were really pleased with that room last year,” Berry said. “I thought Jerome and Pierre in particular, you know, did an incredible job filling in last year, and then obviously we had Kareem (Hunt) in those high leverage and short yardage moments. But Jerome and Pierre, they got obviously a lot of time and a lot of reps last year and feel very good about their skillset. We’ve added a couple of guys to that room with differing skill sets that can complement those guys, but we think we’re in a pretty strong spot.”

Hines and Foreman join a running backs group that also includes Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. Ford held down the fort with Chubb sidelined. He tallied 813 yards on 204 carries with 4 rushing touchdowns.