Nick Chubb suffers broken foot in what could be final game of Browns career

Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb broke his foot Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, extending the star’s laundry list of unfortunate injury setbacks in his career. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Chubb is out for the season with the injury.

The 28-year-old tailback was playing in his eighth game of the year after returning from a serious knee injury he suffered in Week 2 of the 2023 season. Last September, the four-time Pro Bowler tore his left MCL and damaged his ACL, requiring surgery on both along his meniscus. The injury was to the same knee he suffered season-ending PCL, MCL and LCL tears in 2015, costing him a season at Georgia.

On Sunday at Huntington Bank Field, Chubb suffered his injury in the third quarter when his foot appeared to get stepped on during a play fake as he ran toward the line of scrimmage, then pulled up holding his foot. He was later seen exiting the locker room on crutches with a boot on his left foot following Cleveland’s 21-7 loss.

Nick Chubb left the locker room with crutches and a protective boot on his left foot.

— Zac Jackson (@AkronJackson) December 15, 2024

“I’ve gotten to have a first-row seat to what he’s been able to do. I can’t tell you how much I respect him as person, what he means to this football team. So really, really disappointed about this injury,” Stefanski said. “Does not change the fact that he continues to inspire this football team with how he approaches every single day. I know this is another obstacle that he will overcome.”

Chubb scored two rushing touchdowns in the Browns’ Week 12 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He got 20 carries in that game but totaled just 20 in the two games that followed before Sunday. Stefanski said he believed the injury occurred when Chubb got his foot stepped on at the end of a play in the third quarter.

Sunday could also mark the final game of Chubb’s career with Cleveland, as he is in the final year of his contract. Chubb took a pay cut to return to the Browns for 2024, the final year of the contract he signed ahead of the 2021 season. He’s eligible for free agency in March, and with the Browns expected to be a franchise in transition, his future is unclear.

“Well, he’s one of the best running backs to play this game, he works harder than anybody and his personality is never ‘look at me’ or anything,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio said after the game. “It’s always for the team. I know people say, ‘Oh, I’d rather win. I’d rather do this.’ Nick Chubb would rather win than have any stats or any accolades, and that’s truly from the heart of hearts. He’s a good person. It’s just a special person.”

Chubb’s Cleveland legacy

If this is the end of his Browns tenure, he would exit with the third-most rushing yards (6,802) and rushing touchdowns (51) in franchise history behind Hall of Famers Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly.

Before this season, Chubb’s average of 5.3 yards per carry for his career was the third-best by any running back in the Super Bowl era. Chubb went over 1,000 rushing yards in every season from 2019 to 2022.  — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer

Required reading

(Photo: Nick Cammett / Getty Images)