Assessing Nick Chubb's rehab progress

How much do we miss the off-season gym videos of Nick Chubb squatting unbelievable amounts of weight at Cedartown High School? Chubb's offseason preparation is different this year, and all of it is behind the scenes so we do not know exactly how he is doing.

Chubb's ACL and MCL injuries happened in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The good news was that nothing was torn, but the bad news is that he needed two surgeries at different times to repair the knee. Those surgeries happened in September and November. The timeline for recovery has been a moving target but sometime during the 2024 season is the consensus of when Chubb will return. It's still unclear what that means since the season runs from September through January-February.

He was last seen publicly at the Browns vs. Jets game on December 28. During the pregame festivities, Chubb smashed the guitar in a Batman mask. He walked without crutches or assistance.

What other clues do we have on Chubb's progress?

It's the offseason so the Browns don't owe us any information about how Chubb is doing. However, the free agent signing of Nyheim Hines is deemed positive news. Hines is viewed as more of a passing back and special teams player. This could mean he's not intended to replace Chubb even in the early part of the season.

In addition to Kareem Hunt who is no longer with the team, Jerome Ford attempted to fill Chubb's shoes in 2023. He started 12 games and had 204 rushes for 813 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Ford also had 319 yards receiving and five touchdown catches.

Maybe Deshaun Watson is recovering well and plans to take some of the rushing load off all running backs in 2024. We will not know until we see Chubb and Watson in action. In the meantime, we will cherish past videos of Chubb's amazing weight room work and hope to see more of them again soon when he is healthy.

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