Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns Won't Play This Season
The Cleveland Browns suffered a significant blow to their season when star running back Nick Chubb sustained a potentially season-ending knee injury during a "Monday Night Football" game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2. The injury happened in the second quarter, as Chubb was being tackled by one of his teammates. Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick also collided with Chubb, potentially worsening the injury.
Chubb was a highly-coveted player this season, being drafted third among running backs in most fantasy football leagues, including on Yahoo! and ESPN. Other running backs selected before him were Christian McCaffery from the San Francisco 49ers and Austin Ekeler from the Los Angeles Chargers.
The loss of Chubb was felt by his teammates, who described him as the 'engine' of the team and the best player on the Browns. Wide receiver Amari Cooper expressed his sadness at the loss, calling it "sad for this team losing Nick" and a "tragedy."
The Browns conceded defeat to the Steelers following Chubb's injury, with the Steelers winning the game 26-22 in an AFC North divisional match-up.
The next player in line to take Chubb's place is Jerome Ford, a second-year running back who rushed for 106 yards on 16 attempts after Chubb was injured. Ford also had three receptions for 25 yards and one receiving touchdown in Monday's game.
Ford was drafted by the Browns in the fifth round in 2021 from the University of Cincinnati. He only had limited playing time as a rookie last season.
A Series of Knee Injuries for Chubb
Chubb's injury-prone knee is nothing new. In 2015, he sustained a left knee injury while playing for the Georgia Bulldogs during his sophomore season. This injury required reconstructive surgery to fix a torn MCL, PCL, and LCL.
Despite facing criticism from some NFL scouts due to his injury history, Chubb managed to bounce back in time for his junior season the following year, playing in all 13 games. He returned to form during his senior season in 2017, where he rushed for 1,345 yards and 15 touchdowns in 15 games.
The Browns took a chance on Chubb with an early second-round pick in the 2018 Draft, even though his injury history gave some scouts pause.
Chubb showed promise as a rookie in 2018, rushing for 996 yards and scoring eight rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns. Since 2019, he's maintained a streak of rushing for over 1,000 yards in each season and at least 12 rushing touchdowns twice, in 2020 and 2022.
In his career with the Browns, Chubb has rushed 1,238 times for 6,511 yards and scored 48 touchdowns. However, he's not a notable contributor to the passing game, with only four receiving touchdowns and 123 receptions for 1,011 yards.
Betting Odds of the Browns Without Chubb
The Browns are currently 1-1 and sit in second place in the AFC North. The Baltimore Ravens lead the division with a 2-0 record. The Cincinnati Bengals, who were initially thought to be the favorites to win the division, are languishing in last place with a record of 0-2.
The Ravens are now favored to win the AFC North with +100 odds, while the Browns weren't far behind at +330. The Bengals' chances have fallen to +475 due to their slow start.
The Browns' odds to win Super Bowl LVIII are +2200, and their AFC Championship odds are +1200, making these wagers look unlikely without Chubb.
The Browns' odds to miss the playoffs are -145, and their chances to make it to the postseason are +115. The Browns had an over/under of 9.5 wins set for the season, and the prop bet was briefly removed after Chubb's injury before being reinstated at 9.5 o/u.
The Browns will take on the Tennessee Titans (1-1) in Week 3, opening as -3.5 favorites. The Titans have a 2-0 ATS record, while the Browns' ATS record is 1-1.
The Browns' win total before the season started was 9.5. The current win total still stands at 9.5 o/u.
