Chubb Declares ‘I’m Over the Hump’ – But Can Houston Trust Him After Toll of Injuries?

It's been an emotional week for Cleveland Browns fans, accepting the reality that fan favorite Nick Chubb would not be back with the franchise in 2025.

Chubb inked a one-year, $2.5 million, incentive-laced deal with the Houston Texans, officially bringing a seven-year stint with the Browns to a close. As he begins his next chapter, the 29-year-old provided an important injury update during his first press conference with his new team.

"I would say that's all behind me," Chubb said of the gruesome 2023 knee injury that ended his season in Week 2, and the unfortunate broken foot that cost him the last three final games of 2024. "Injuries happen and with what I did, it takes about two years to really get back and so I'm over the hump. I'm back home, I was back all offseason training, where I trained every year since I was in high school. I was able to get a full year in, doing the things that I do best. Now I'm feeling as good as I have been in a long time."

It's safe to say that the brutal knee injury to Chubb back in 2023 is to blame for him no longer being with the franchise. His return from the ailment ast year was well-documented, culminating in a celebratory moment in Week 7 as he ran out of the tunnel for the first time since being carted off the field in Pittsburgh over a year prior. He even scored a touchdown in a 21-14 loss to the Bengals.

There was always an understanding that it would take more than a year for Chubb to look like himself again, though, as he stated. Ultimately, the eight games he did play weren't enough to convince the Browns brass that he would get back to being even close to the running back he used to be.

And so, Cleveland opted not to re-sign Chubb this offseason and instead drafted Quinshon Judkins in the third round of the NFL Draft and Dylan Sampson two rounds later to reshape their running back room entirely.

There is plenty of excitement about the rookie tandem being integrated into Kevin Stefanski's offense. However, if Chubb goes on to produce big numbers like he was accustomed to doing before his injury setbacks, it will be hard for fans not to miss Chubb just a little bit more.