Nick Chubb and the Cleveland Browns have agreed to rework the running back's contract for 2024, according to NFL Media. The key maneuver in that restructure is the 28-year-old lowering his base salary of $11.775 million, but Chubb will have an opportunity to earn that money back via incentives. It also secures Chubb's place on the roster as he continues to recover from the season-ending knee injury he suffered early in the 2023 campaign.
Chubb had a base salary of $11.775 million and a hefty $15.8 million salary cap charge for the upcoming season, which cast some doubt as to whether or not Cleveland would keep him on the roster given his current status. He only carried a $4 million dead cap charge, so cutting him would've created roughly $11.8 million in salary cap space. Instead of going down that route, the two sides were able to come to this agreement, which keeps Chubb's tenure in Cleveland going for at least a little while longer.
Chubb is set to become a free agent after the 2024 season.
The veteran back suffered a gruesome knee injury in Week 2 of last season in a game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Chubb was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the season and it was later revealed that he suffered a torn MCL and damaged ACL. This is the latest in what has been a long list of injuries for Chubb in his career dating to when he was at Georgia where he tore his PCL, MCL and LCL in his left knee in 2015, which is the same knee he is currently rehabbing.
Chubb has undergone two separate procedures during this latest recovery process and it's unclear what his availability will be to begin offseason workouts, training camp and the start of the regular season.
When healthy, Chubb has proven to be arguably the best running back in the NFL, being named to four Pro Bowls in his career and earning a Second Team All-Pro honor in 2022. The former second-round pick has rushed for over 1,000 yards in four of his six seasons in the league.
As he continues to rehab, the Browns running back room currently features Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong Jr. and John Kelly Jr., along with free agent additions Nyheim Hines and D'Onta Foreman.
