The Cleveland Browns were active at the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, shipping defensive end Za’Darius Smith and a 2026 seventh-round pick to the Detroit Lions and their 2025 fifth-round selection and a 2026 sixth-rounder.
While speculation ran rampant that more Browns would be traded, the team either could not find buyers for these players or the Browns did not like the proposed offers as the Smith deal was Cleveland’s only trade.
At 2-7, the Browns are signaling their focus is on next season, evidenced by the front office’s decision to swap the defensive end for an additional draft pick in 2025.
Analyst Nick Wilson believes the Browns’ rebuilding process may be painful for fans as players who are well-liked in Cleveland could have new homes next season.
Will running back Nick Chubb be on that list of players finding new homes in 2025?
On the “Afternoon Drive,” Wilson made a bold statement about Chubb’s status for next season, suggesting that the running back will have to earn his roster spot for 2025 by how he plays during the Browns’ remaining contests.
“I think Nick Chubb has eight games to earn himself a future in Cleveland,” Wilson said.
Chubb returned to action just three weeks ago from his second significant injury to his knee, the same knee he injured nearly a decade ago while in college.
Since returning, Chubb has 42 carries for 113 yards and a score.
His 2.7-yards-per-rush average is by far the worst of his NFL career, and he’s added only two catches for six yards through the air.
Chubb is in the final year of his contract, a deal the Browns reworked this offseason to make 2024 an incentive-laden pact for the running back.
