Will Nick Chubb play in 2024? Browns star begins season on PUP while recovering from devastating knee injury

Arguably nothing is more important to the Browns' 2024 prospects than the play of Deshaun Watson, who is returning from shoulder surgery and has the highest salary of any quarterback this season. Nick Chubb's health may be a close second.

The Browns' running game suffered a major setback when Chubb suffered a devastating knee injury in Week 2 of last season. Cleveland's offense was left without one of the game's most dynamic running backs. Chubb avoided the end of his career, but his road back is not quite complete.

Chubb will begin the season on the PUP list, which will keep him out for at least four games. This is not unexpected, but does call his status for the rest of the season into question.

Here's what you need to know about Chubb's status for 2024 as he recovers from a knee injury.

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Will Nick Chubb play in 2024?

Chubb is expected to continue playing in 2024 and there is no indication that the decision to keep him on the PUP list is the result of a setback.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said at the start of training camp that Chubb was “making exactly the progress he should be making” and was “making progress” in his rehab.

GM Andrew Berry declined to give a timetable for Chubb's return in July, admitting the running back still has “a little bit of a road” to recover. Chubb is now guaranteed to miss games against the Cowboys, Jaguars, Giants and Raiders.

The Browns seem content to watch Chubb's recovery week by week without setting any expectations for his progress, but he is expected to return at some point during the season after undergoing multiple surgeries last season.

What injury did Nick Chubb have?

Chubb suffered a torn anterior and posterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in a 2023 game against the Steelers. He underwent surgery to repair the medial ligament and meniscus in September and underwent further surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in November.

The initial prognosis for Chubb was much better than expected, as the Browns announced that he only had a torn medial collateral ligament. During surgery, it was discovered that a meniscus and ACL repair were also necessary, which significantly prolonged his recovery.

September 18th will mark one year since Chubb's injury, meaning his absence is guaranteed to last longer than a year, but it appears he is on track to be back on the field sometime in 2024.

MORE: Latest injury update on QB Deshaun Watson

Browns RB Depth Chart

* – Starts the season on the PUP list.

Chubb remains the Browns' best option at running back when healthy, but one would expect him and Jerome Ford to share touches when Chubb returns. Cleveland won't turn Chubb into a workhorse once he's back on the field, and Ford will become a key piece of the Browns' running game regardless of how Chubb's recovery goes.

Ford ran for 813 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, averaging 4.0 yards per carry, and added 319 yards and five touchdowns through the air. He will enter the season as Cleveland's top running back.

Third-year running back Pierre Strong Jr. is also in the backfield after rushing for 291 yards at 4.6 yards per carry last season, though he suffered a rib injury late in training camp and may need time to return to the field. That would put D'Onta Foreman next in line, and Foreman has experience with 2,326 rushing yards in six NFL seasons. Foreman set a career high with 914 yards at 4.5 yards per carry in 2022 at Carolina.

Undrafted rookie Aidan Robbins, who finished his career at BYU, is next on the roster and is trying to make the Browns' roster.