Cleveland Browns: Is a Nick Chubb extension the smart move?

Diverging interests

The franchise tag may be the Browns’ best option for keeping Chubb. It’s projected to be about $12.8 million for running backs in 2022, which is a large sum to be sure, but one that would be mostly offset by the departure of Hunt. That’s entirely doable, and it would protect the Browns in the event of a Chubb injury or steep decline. They wouldn’t be committed to him, and could continue to tag him, taking things one year at a time, never going all-in while still being able to rely on him.

That may be best for the team, but it’s entirely unfair to Chubb. He needs to do what is best for him, and while he obviously wants to win a Super Bowl, and would have a good chance to do that in Cleveland, he also likely deserves to be the highest-paid back in the NFL, and that will never happen here. It could somewhere else, so why would he be satisfied to be tagged year-to-year, never getting the commitment and long-term security he deserves? Bell sat out an entire season for this very reason, and while everyone loves Chubb’s no-nonsense personality, perhaps he could do the same.

Ultimately, the Browns are better with Chubb, and should want to keep him for a little longer. Chubb should want a long-term contract with massive guarantees that pays him what he deserves. These two desires are mutually exclusive unless Cleveland completely ignores the mistakes of other teams, which they won’t. A two-year deal worth in the $25-$30 million range is expensive, but makes some sense for the team. That’s still likely not nearly enough commitment for Chubb. He knows his worth.

This issue is an extremely complex one, with no right or wrong answer. There are two entirely legitimate sides with valid arguments, and it’s one that Andrew Berry and company are no doubt agonizing over. They literally cannot afford to mess this up either way, because it could very well mean the difference between a Super Bowl and not one of those, which would be quite nice to win.

Both parties want to win a Super Bowl. They each know this is a business and want to do what is best for themselves. For the Browns, that’s playing this year-to-year and moving on at the first sign of regression. For Chubb, that’s signing a huge deal that sets his family up for generations and rewards all of his hard work. Cleveland offering him that contract would go against literally everything the front office is built on, so it would be incredibly shocking to see that happen.

Berry has earned the trust of fans, but he’ll anger a good chunk of the fanbase no matter which decision he makes. We’ll have to trust he did his homework (he will) and did what was best for the team’s Super Bowl hopes, both now and moving forward. Hopefully, that includes Chubb for another season or two, but it has to make sense for both sides.