Ahead of free agency, signs pointed to Nick Chubb remaining with the Browns as he continues to recover from the major knee injury that ended his 2023 campaign.
That will indeed be the case, with the team and player working out a revised contract for the upcoming season.
The four-time Pro Bowl running back has agreed to a restructured deal, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network report.
Chubb has lowered his base salary ($11.78M) for 2024, the final year of his contract. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes that figure will now check in at $6.28M. His scheduled cap hit — $15.83M — will unsurprisingly come down as well, Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com adds.
Incentives are in place on this new arrangement, which will allow Chubb to earn back the $12.2M in total compensation he was previously due.
Much of his ability to do so, of course, will depend on when he can return to game action. Cleveland expects the 28-year-old to play at some point in 2024, and if it happens, both sides will enter next offseason with more clarity regarding his future in the organization.
The high cap hit the Browns were set to carry in the final year of Chubb’s deal led some to speculate he could become a cut candidate. However, the team has remained confident the former second-rounder can return to his pre-injury form upon receiving medical clearance.
Chubb has undergone two operations aimed at repairing the damage done to his MCL during Week 2 of the 2023 season. Before that injury, he had generally been healthy throughout his career.
The Browns’ run game is at its best with Chubb in the picture, and the team took a step back in production on the ground without him last year.
Cleveland was not among the big spenders at the RB spot during free agency, but both pass-catcher/returner Nyheim Hines and journeyman D’Onta Foreman have been added on one-year deals this offseason. They will join incumbents Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. in the backfield to start the season.
Cleveland entered Thursday with $3.9M in cap space, one of the lowest figures in the league. The Browns’ financial situation remains tight in large part because a new restructure has not been agreed to with quarterback Deshaun Watson; the latter is set to carry a cap hit of $63.77M in 2024 as things currently stand.
While it will be interesting to see what happens in Watson’s case, Chubb’s immediate financial future has been clarified.
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