Nick Chubb posted a short but telling message on social media ahead of the Cleveland Browns opening up mandatory minicamp.
Chubb is recovering from a pair of knee surgeries. However, Cleveland’s “Batman” is far from finished and well on the road to recovery. Chubb posted a variety of photos on social media working out, as well as a picture of his favorite superhero.
“Unbreakable,” Chubb wrote on the post, which also showed the scar on his knee from surgery.
The post drew quite the reaction online from Chubb’s teammates and others around the league, such as Dallas Cowboys LB Micah Parsons and former Browns RB Kareem Hunt.
It also fired up the Browns’ fanbase, who are anxious for any good news regarding Chubb.
“The Lombardi is coming back home in 2025,” one fan wrote. Another wrote: “My glorious king has returned with a vengeance.”
The Browns open mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, June 11.
Timeline Uncertain for Nick Chubb’s Return
The post is an encouraging sign, but there is still no certain timeline for Chubb’s return to the field. His most recent surgery was in November, and he’s just started running again.
“The team did a great job of being there for me,” Chubb said on Wednesday, June 5, in his first conversation with media members since the injury. “I was down mentally for a while. When you get hurt it’s one thing. When you get hurt again and you already know what you have to go through, the entire process, surgery, rehab, it’s a non-stop battle every day. So my team did a great job of being there for me and I was around the building for them. They did a great job, made the playoffs, had a great run.”
Chubb is a four-time Pro Bowler and the franchise’s fourth-leading rusher of all time. Chubb has collected 6,511 yards and 48 touchdowns in 77 career games. He’s averaging 84.6 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry.
Chubb and the Browns agreed to a restructured contract this offseason. The move chopped down Chubb’s base salary of around $12 million and converted much of that into incentives. It lowered Chubb’s cap hit to a manageable $6.275 million. He may not be ready for Week 1, but he is excited about donning a Browns jersey once again.
“Definitely a blessing,” he said. “They could have just cut me dry and left me hanging, right, but they did a great job. I want to be here in Cleveland — they know that — so we came to a great point.”
Browns Confident in RB Room in Nick Chubb’s Absence
The Browns added some additional depth to their running back room this offseason, prepping for a scenario where Chubb misses time. Veterans D’Onta Foreman and Nyheim Hines were both added in free agency.
Foreman is expected to play the Kareem Hunt-type role, while Hines is more known for his pass-catching and kick-return abilities. They join Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong Jr. on the depth chart.
“Depth is important at every position, we were really pleased with that room last year,” Browns GM Andrew Berry said in April. “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.”
The Browns open the season on September 8 against the Cowboys.
J.R. DeGroote covers the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide sports as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SB Nation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
