Browns HC Kevin Stefanski confirms Nick Chubb will undergo season-ending surgery
Browns coach Kevin Stefanksi confirmed the unfortunate news in regards to Nick Chubb. The star running back will need season-ending knee surgery.
Stefanski spoke to the media Tuesday, hours after his team returned from Pittsburgh after losing to the Steelers 26-22. But what happened in the loss will impact the Browns all season.
“As you know, you don’t replace Nick Chubb,” Stefanski said. “You don’t do that with great players in the league. You look around, (when) they go out, it’s always not one person who replaces a player of his caliber. Everybody’s got to do a little bit more, got to do a little bit more everywhere. But we’ll look at options there in terms of who we’ll bring in.”
Chubb was at the Browns complex Tuesday morning. Stefanski didn’t announce a date for Chubb’s surgery. But he did confirm that his star running back suffered a significant injury. Chubb’s left knee bent at an awkward angle after a collision with Steelers DB Minkah Fitzpatrick. Chubb hurt the same knee when he played for Georgia.
Chubb’s injury was so gruesome that ABC wouldn’t replay video of the hit. On the play, Chubb’s 10th carry of the game, Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb had seemingly wrapped up the tackle when Fitzpatrick hit the running back at knee level.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin even addressed the Chubb injury in his Tuesday press conference.
“Well wishes go out to Nick Chubb,” Tomlin said. “We’re competitors, but we’ve got a lot of respect for that man, as a player and as a man. You like to compete against guys like him, you like to beat guys like him, but you certainly don’t want to see catastrophic injury.”
So what do the Browns do? Chubb’s backups were Jerome Ford and Pierre Strong. Ford had 16 carries for 106 yards in relief of Chubb.
But it’s likely the Browns will start scanning the market to see who they can bring in in mid-September. One name being tossed about is Kareem Hunt. He’s an obvious go-to since he served as Chubb’s backup for the Browns for the previous four seasons. The Chiefs selected Hunt in the third round of the 2017 draft. He led the NFL in rushing his rookie season. The Browns signed him in 2019. Hunt now is a free agent after requesting a trade from the Browns early in the 2022 season.
The Browns also may be interested in a trade for Rams running back Cam Akers. Coach Sean McVay said the RB likely will be sent to another team. Akers didn’t play Sunday against the 49ers. Another name might be Jonathan Taylor of the Colts. He, too, requested a trade.
Meanwhile, Nick Chubb still remains popular with the fans across the country. The Georgia Bulldogs sent him best wishes as did Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio.