Nick Chubb is back, but the Cleveland Browns star isn’t quite ready to return to game action.
Chubb returned to practice this week after over a year on the sidelines recovering from a devastating knee injury.
He started the season on the physically unable to perform list. He suffered the injury in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, tearing his ACL, MCL, meniscus, and medial capsule. It required a pair of surgeries for Chubb to get it right.
He returned to practice this week, opening a 21-day window for the Browns to add him to the 53-man roster. That won’t happen this week, with Cleveland marking Chubb as out against the Washington Commanders.
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski was not willing to discuss the details of when Chubb could be on the field next.
“I’m not going to get into that. Nick’s not going to get into that. That’s not really our focus,” Stefanski said on Friday, October 4. “I understand the question, but for Nick and for us, it’s let’s take this day by day and make sure you’re feeling, how you’re feeling, and then we’ll progress whenever that next step is.”
Chubb has also remained vague on when he could make his season debut.
“I just know how to be me,” Chubb said on Thursday. “I don’t look at expectations. Like I always say, I just work hard and everything happens how it’s supposed to happen.
“It all depends on how I feel. They told me however long I need to. So whenever I feel great I’ll be out there.”
Nick Chubb Provides Emotional Boost for Browns
Getty ImagesCleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb on the field ahead of a matchup against the Giants.
Chubb won’t be playing, but his return has sparked positive reviews from those in the Browns’ building.
“Looks like himself to me. And it’s good to have him out there,” Stefanski said after ruling Chubb out. “It’s good to have him in individual drills and then out there on the practice field giving a look to our defense on scout team. Can’t remember the last time he did that, but he looks good.”
Chubb has been around the facility during his rehab but being back on the practice field has provided an emotional boost for a Browns team trying to climb out of a 1-3 hole.
“It’d be good to have his presence, his attitude, his mentality out there to help us, and we’ll see how it goes,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “Hopefully, it’s sooner than later, but, yeah, we’re all super excited for Chubb to be back and just him to be back on the field is definitely awesome.”
Browns Have Injury Questions Beyond Nick Chubb
Getty ImagesCleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is working his way back from a knee injury.
The Browns have multiple injury issues heading into their Week 5 clash against Washington. Players questionable for the matchup are tight end David Njoku — who has missed the last three weeks with an ankle injury — as well as offensive tackles Jedrick Wills Jr. and Jack Conklin.
The Browns offensive line has struggled this season, giving up an NFL-high 19 sacks. Wills and Conklin returning to bring consistency to the tackle spots would be a huge boost for Cleveland.
“What you have to do when you’re dealing with players that are coming back from any injury, you got to make sure that every day you’re seeing how guys are feeling, how they respond to practice, those type of things,” Stefanski said. “So, we’ll see how everybody does, that’s really up and down the roster from an injury perspective.”
The Browns are a 3.5-point underdog against the Commanders, per ESPN BET. Washington has won three in a row and boasts one of the top offenses in the NFL.
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
