The Cleveland Browns will have to wait another week until Nick Chubb is back into the mix.
The Browns have ruled out Chubb for their Week 6 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles as he continues to get up to speed after returning to practice.
“I’m not going to get into how close, those type of things, other than to say he’s getting better every single day,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Friday, October 11. “And Nick has the attitude and certainly we support where we’ll just take it day-to-day and focus on what he’s looking to accomplish out there. And it’s on the practice field, in the meeting room, in the weight room, those type of things. He’s very much keeping a day-to-day mindset.”
Chubb’s 21-day window to be added to the active roster opened on October 2. He’ll have a shot to take the field next week against the Cincinnati Bengals. It’ll be a must-win divisional matchup for the Browns — although every matchup the rest of the way could be dubbed a “must-win” after their 1-4 start.
“I think he’s just building on every single day,” Stefanski said. “I think he’s doing a nice job in the scout team, he’s doing a nice job when he gets some reps with the offense. So he just continues to build on every single day.”
Browns Offense Needs Boost After Miserable Start
With Chubb out of the mix, the Browns will continue to rely on Jerome Ford, D’Onta Foreman and Pierre Strong Jr. to lead the way. Veteran Nyheim Hines, who also recently returned to practice, will not be ready to go for the matchup.
The Browns to find the spark on the offensive side of the ball. Cleveland ranks last in yards per game (239.4 yards) and are scoring just 15.8 points per game through five weeks.
“I think that the players are focused on one thing and that’s going out and being successful this week,” Browns offensive coordinato Ken Dorsey said this week. “And I think that’s the most important thing for us, is going out and being successful this week. And I think that’s the buy in that our players have. That’s the buy in that the building has and that’s our sole focus whether it’s today, tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, whatever it is, we’re focusing on right now. We’re focusing on this week; we’re focusing on going out and winning this football game.”
Browns Sticking With Deshaun Watson Despite Struggles
A spark for the Browns could also come in the form of a change, with many calling for Cleveland to sit quarterback Deshaun Watson and start Jameis Winston. But the Browns are not budging and have no plans to sit Watson — as of yet.
“I think we’ve got, obviously, a lot of faith in Deshaun. I think for us it’s about ‘Everybody’s got to be better on the offensive side of the ball’. It’s not just a ‘point the finger at one person,'” Dorsey said. “As coaches, as players, we all have to do better.”
Watson has passed for 852 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions this season. He’s been sacked an NFL-high 26 times.
Watson will look to turn things around against the Eagles. Cleveland is a 9.5-point underdog for the matchup, per ESPN BET.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He graduated from Arizona State and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SBNation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
