The Cleveland Browns offense could look considerably different next season, including at the running back position.
Nick Chubb is in the final year of his contract and took a considerable pay cut to remain with the franchise in 2024 following a catastrophic knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of last season. With Chubb a decent bet to depart in free agency, Cleveland is a potential landing spot for a breakout rusher who will also hit the market in March.
Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department floated Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins as a potential fit in Cleveland on Monday, November 18.
“It’s an unfortunate truth that Nick Chubb hasn’t looked like the explosive runner that he once was and the Browns need to have a good ground game given the quarterback situation,” B/R wrote. “If Chubb isn’t able to recapture some of his former glory, then turning to the free-agent market and targeting J.K. Dobbins could be an option. … He has looked like a feature back with the Chargers so far this season and is still just 26 years old.”
Dobbins’ injury history cost him the entirety of the 2021 season and all but one game last year after the Baltimore Ravens selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft. However, Dobbins has made that money back and then some via a breakout season this year with the Chargers.
Dobbins has racked up 726 rushing yards and 8 TDs on an average of 4.8 yards per carry across 10 games played. He’s also caught 25 passes for 115 receiving yards. Meanwhile, the Chargers offense is humming and the team is 7-3.
Dobbins had little choice but to sign the paltry one-year, $1.6 million contract L.A. offered him following his torn Achilles last season. However, given his age and what projects to be a resurgence in the importance of the RB position in 2025 puts Dobbins in line for a payday come March.
Spotrac currently projects his market value at close to $9.4 million annually, or roughly $28.3 million over a new three-year deal.
The value that Derrick Henry has brought to the Ravens and that Saquon Barkley has provided the Philadelphia Eagles, two Super Bowl contenders in their respective conferences, should pave the way for a player like Dobbins to take advantage when he becomes a free agent a few months from now.
It isn’t a guarantee that the Browns will want to spend big on a running back, though Jerome Ford’s usage and overall production have both regressed this season and 2025 is the last deal on his rookie contract.
Bleacher Report is correct that Cleveland will need a potent running game if it can’t figure out the mess it has made under center, where the now twice-injured Deshaun Watson represents a $73 million salary cap hit in each of the next two years.
But even if the Browns can figure out the QB spot, either by drafting a top rookie early and throwing him immediately into the fire or making a trade for a veteran star, paying a high-level RB makes some sense.
Cleveland is so deep into cash-strapped territory trying to win now that there is actually justification for throwing good money after bad and trying to climb back into the playoff mix, as future years will represent financial hardships for the franchise regardless of how much more it spends now.
