On Sunday, Browns running back Nick Chubb offered up some big-picture comments on the struggles of the market at his position. Chubb also focused on his own situation, which could in time put him in the crosshairs for getting cut.
“I mean, it’s easy for me to say it’s not a big deal, but next year it could be me in the same situation,” Chubb told reporters on Sunday, via the transcript produced by the team. “But for right now, I do have one more year, but I’m here, I’m all in. I’m ready to work [with] my guys.”
Chubb is due to make $10.85 million in base salary for 2023. Only $2.866 million of it is guaranteed. In theory, the Browns could still try to squeeze him to take less before the rest of it becomes guaranteed as a practical matter in Week One. There is currently no indication that they will. There are also no current efforts to extend Chubb’s contract.
“No, I’m focused on just playing right now,” Chubb said, when asked about talks on a new deal. And he knows that, without an extension, things could come to a head in 2024, when his salary increases to $11.75 million and his age increases to 28.
Has he considered what might happen next year?
“I can’t say I haven’t, but I’m so focused and locked in,” Chubb said. “I’m there with those guys, too. I understand the situation. I know it can be me one day and yeah, I’m just kind of playing both sides. I’m here for my team, but I’m also understanding the situation that I could be in.”
There had been some speculation early in the offseason that the Browns don’t need to spend nearly $11 million on a running back, especially as the focus of the offense presumably pivots toward $45 million per year quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Browns continue to embrace Chubb, however.
The Browns, as one source noted on Sunday, paid Chubb and kept Chubb because his leadership is critical to the team’s culture. That actually could be one way for running backs to create the surplus value that is elusive to the position. Beyond doing what plenty of other younger, cheaper players can do, Chubb brings important intangibles to the table — intangibles that make the Browns more willing to give him tangible dollars.
Still, it’s clear there are no guarantees for any running backs, beyond any guaranteed dollars they might still have in their contracts. When GM Andrew Berry was specifically asked whether Chubb had anything to worry about, Berry did not answer the simple yes-or-no question with a simple yes or a no.
“Nick Chubb is the type of player and person that you hope is with the organization as long as possible,” Berry replied.
While that may be true, the question eventually becomes whether his cost outweighs his benefit. For a franchise that aspires to lead the way in the embrace of analytics, that’s always the ultimate question.