After a second surgery on his torn MCL and ACL suffered in Week 2, Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is set to begin load running in April.
While the Browns have commended Chubb on his recovery and rehab process, they are not willing to give a timeframe on his return to the field yet. Head coach Kevin Stefanski stated his excitement for Chubb at the NFL owner’s meeting when speaking to the media, but said it’s still too early in the process to give a definitive answer:
“We’ll work through it. I’m excited for Nick. He’s doing a great job with his rehab as everybody can imagine, so we’ll just make sure that we continue to make decisions based on him and the medical staff. But excited about Nick.”
General manager and executive vice president Andrew Berry added that his next three months will be telling on just how soon Chubb can get back on the field:
“The next call it three months will be pretty telling in terms of his potential readiness for early in the season. We’re going to be conservative in terms of our approach in our assessment with building the roster because he’s coming off of a major knee injury.”
The Browns have gone out of their way to add depth to the running back position this offseason after the struggles of their run game a year ago in Chubb’s absence. They have signed D’Onta Foreman, the likely frontrunner for the bulk of carries if Chubb is not ready by Week 1, and Nyheim Hines, who will see the field in passing situations and as a returnman for the Browns.
Chubb has been nothing but superhuman in his tenure with the Browns, and he gets the right to prove he can once again be just that. And the Browns are giving him that chance after wild speculation they could move off of their superstar running back this offseason.
His first carry back on the field will be an electric one.