Dawgs By Nature
“When I ran, I knew that I was going to play again.” Nick Chubb is ready for his Browns return
As the Cleveland Browns 2024 NFL season seems destined for disappointment, the return of RB Nick Chubb to the field over a year after his gruesome knee injury is a beacon of hope and light. Chubb’s letter to the City of Cleveland drew tears from many as the reserved running back laid his feelings and thoughts out.
Chubb is officially listed as questionable for Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals but is expected to play.
This week has been all about Chubb after news broke last weekend that he would return against the Bengals. We read from Chubb about the difficult task of returning, we heard his teammates cheer and hype him up in the locker room and Browns fans have prepared themselves for an emotional experience.
After hearing from Chubb earlier in the week, Kelsey Russo from the team’s website provided even more great context on the running back’s return. In Russo’s piece, we get to hear from those who worked with Chubb, including trainers who were there with him from the moment of the injury, and his family.
Russo’s piece is well worth your time but a few highlights that jumped out:
“First of all, no player ever would voluntarily sprint a hill – ever,” Rock said. “And this kid comes up to me and he’s like, ‘You mind if I sprint it?’ And it’s like, well, we haven’t done anything like that, but I don’t see why not. And he went out there the next day and sprinted up the hill. And the steep incline forced him to drive his knee. It forced him to drive through the ground, and the knee bent a little bit more than it had. And it was in my head, I was like, ‘He’s gonna make it.’”
The desire to sprint the hill and the impact it had on his knee’s recovery says so much about the Browns star.
After Chubb had X-rays taken and his knee was placed in a brace, he was sent to the hospital for further imaging. Browns Director of Rehabilitation John Pfizenmayer fit Chubb for the right brace and crutches. Jones packed up his locker and his belongings with Chubb’s mother, LaVelle Chubb. When Jones went back into the training room to bring his belongings, he said Chubb told him to “get the bat files back out,” a reference to Jones putting Batman on Chubb’s workout sheets.
Literally while in the stadium still, before any imaging but knowing the injury was bad, Chubb was preparing to get back to work and needed the bat files to prepare for his return.
“When he had the second surgery, Mr. Batman wanted to go by himself,” LaVelle Chubb said. “And so, I respected that. I didn’t like...
