It's hard to encapsulate what Nick Chubb means to Cleveland in a simple column. As the 29-year-old back is on the brink of a deal with the Houston Texans, bringing his time with the Browns to an unceremonious and unfortunate end, I will try.
Since the franchise returned to the shores of Lake Erie in 1999, no player has represented what it means to be a Brown, or portrayed the attitude of this fine midwest city more than Chubb.
There have been some polarizing players in that span. Joe Thomas. Josh Gordon. Joe Haden was another fan favorite. Jarivs Landry. Odell Beckham Jr. Baker Mayfield. Myles Garrett, who is one of the only remaining stars from this same memorable era that Chubb played in. None of them can quite match the status of Chubb.
Naturally, the biggest reason Chubb has been so adored here was because of his play on the field. The Georiga product put the league on notice pretty quickly during his first season in the league in 2018. By Week 7 Chubb was the outright starter. A memorable three-carry, 105 yard, two touchdown performance against the Raiders in Week 4 started to turn the tide in his favor.
A little over two weeks later, the team was shipping veteran Carlos Hyde to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fifth-round pick. Another iconic Chubb moment came when he set the franchise record with a 92-yard touchdown run against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10.
Those pivotal moments were just part of Chubb's memorable rookie season that saw him finish just four yards shy of 1,000 on the ground and eight touchdowns. It was only the beginning of his story with the Browns.
Chubb's sophomore season came with nearly 1,500 yards as he split time with Kareem Hunt, who was suspended for the first eight games of the season. The Chubb-Hunt duo became a fruitful pairing as they collectively helped prolong each other's career. Chubb, in particular, went on to produce four straight 1,000-plus yard seasons, including a career high 1,525 yards in 2022.
Chubb really arrived at the perfect time for Cleveland. After the dreadful 1-31 record across the 2016 and 2017 seasons, he was a sign of hope for a young, up-and-coming roster. That culminated with the team's unforgettable playoff appearance in 2020 – the first for the franchise in 17 years.
For so many Browns fans, that 48-37 wild-card win on the road in Pittsburgh remains the greatest moment of their fandom. In that game, it was Chubb who technically scored the game-winning touchdown.
The Chubb phenomenon was about more than just a Hall-of-Fame-caliber highlight reel, though. The soft-spoken star let his play do the talking. In a blue-collar town like Cleveland, one where – as LeBron James famously penned – "nothing is given, and everything is earned," putting your head down and just showing up to work is the easiest way to win people over.
With Chubb, that wasn't just some cute punchline for a professional athlete to post on social media accompanied by an intense workout video. It was a way of life. He lived by that, and fans loved him even more for it.
Nothing showcased how much Chubb lived by that more than his return from the gruesome knee injury in Week 2 of the 2023 season in Pittsburgh. That one Minkah Fitzpatrick hit triggered the sequence of events that brought the Browns to today, where Chubb is set to sign elsewhere. It's the end of an era – for now at least – nobody wanted to see end.
Unfortunately, though, the Browns general manager Andrew Berry is running a business. After a broken foot ended Chubb's comeback tour last fall, the organization simply didn't have enough evidence that the running back who captured the hearts of Cleveland was still in there. That, combined with a fragile financial situation, left the franchise only willing to go so far on a deal to keep him in brown and orange.
In fairness to Berry, he did try to prepare people for this throughout the offseason. He was candid about the fact that they'd let Chubb test the market during the NFL Combine. After drafting two rookie running backs in April, he didn't totally rule out Chubb's return, but his comments on the "complexion of the running back room changing" were telling.
Then came the reworked contract by Jerome Ford, which was basically a way for him to stay with the team. Those were all signs that this day was coming. Still, that won't make it any easier for fans to process.
On several occasions, the Browns brass has told everyone that they're in a period of transition right now. Team owner Jimmy Haslam used the term "digging out" from the disastrous Deshaun Watson trade and expressed patience in doing so.
Actions speak louder than words, though, and the Browns draft strategy, which included not only drafting two running backs but two quarterbacks as well, highlighted that this team is in a state of rebuild.
That's what makes Chubb's departure so poignant. Symbolically, at least, it officially closes the door on what was a once-promising era of Browns football and brings a larger level of realness to this new, rebuilding, transitional phase the franchise is currently in.
