RB Nick Chubb (9.25.26)
JW Johnson:
“Well, hey, good afternoon, and thank you all for being here. I’ve been really thinking a lot about what to say about Nick Chubb, and I’ll let you guys handle all the superlatives from his career that was unfortunately cut short, but an amazing career that he did have. And I really just want to say thank you. Thank you, Nick, for coming here, for changing the culture. Thank you for leading by example and how actions speak louder than words. You are a true teammate. You’re a true friend. You are forever a Brown, and we just want to welcome you home. So, with that, I want to welcome Nick Chubb. Thank you very much.”
Nick Chubb:
“What’s up, everybody? It’s great to be back. Cleveland’s where my journey started, and that’s where it’s going to end today. And I’m just blessed to be able to be in front of you again, and thanks to the owners and everybody for having me. Yeah, it’s a blessing to be back.”
What was it about this place, about Cleveland, that sort of grabbed your heart? And why did you love it here so much all the years?
“Yeah. So, I think just coming in, back in 2018, I got drafted. I wasn’t sure what I was coming into because the team had just gone 1 and 15. And so at that time, Cleveland wasn’t the team everyone talked about. And so, when I got here, I realized that what people on the outside thought was completely wrong about Cleveland. You know, it’s a special place, and you got to be here to see it. And the people, the team, the organization, the fans, you know, just everybody, a part of the city makes it special.”
This summer, you talked about the fans’ support, going through that knee injury, from announcing your retirement last month, to us all finding out yesterday that this was going to happen today, what’s the reaction been from the fan base that you’ve seen?
“Yeah, everyone’s ecstatic to have me back, and I’m happy to be back. And, anything on social media, I mean, fans have been wanting me to come back since I announced I was retiring. And not only that, but, you know, A.B. (Andrew Berry) and the Haslams reached out since I announced it, too, so everybody’s been wanting me to come back, anticipating it, and we had to find a great weekend that works for all of us, and it’s this weekend. Couldn’t have picked a better time to come.”
Nick, what went into your decision to retire at this point in your career?
“Yeah, I just feel like, well, one, I wasn’t playing for Cleveland anymore, so I didn’t feel like playing football. But yeah, it was just a time that I thought, you know, I pretty much had done all that I could, and I hit 30 years old, and I realized, ‘man, I’m not just going to play football my whole life’, you know. I felt like there was something more out there for me to do, and football was a huge part, it jump started me to be able to do things I want to do in the future, and that was it. I feel like I gave it all I had, left it all out there, and now it’s just time for me to figure out different things, figure out something else to do.”
Nick, we know you loved doing media so much, is broadcasting an option for you?
“Yeah, broadcasting is not in my lineup. Sorry.”
JW Johnson:
“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later.”
Can this be a three-day contract? Do you think you have one more in you for Sunday?
“Got about two plays in me, outside zone. That’s. That’s all I got. Maybe a screen.”
What do you think the emotions are going to be like Sunday, with whatever, 65,000 people there, kind of the first time you’re going through something like that?
“It’ll be emotional for me, I know that. I think for everybody too, just with how things went here with me, how, you know, I had so much success and then just to get taken down like that and then never really come back, it was just kind of a sad ending. So, I think everyone will, I think now it’s better closure for everyone just to see me finally back in the stadium and to be in high spirits, be up and walking and moving, and just for me to be back in Cleveland watching the Browns.”
How much have you had to sort of make peace with that moment, and how much did that night in Pittsburgh sort of adjust or alter you?
“Yeah, something I had to come to terms with. Obviously, not how I wanted it to end for me, but I mean, it happened. And that’s all I can, that’s all I can do, is just accept that it happened and move forward. But, you know, I think everything happens for a reason, and I don’t know what that reason is yet, but I plan to find out here in the future. And everything in my life that’s happened to me, I’m trying to take something from it. And that night, I took something from that too. And I’m blessed to be able to be back up here in front of you guys and to be able to walk and still run. And I played for two years after that, you know, and I don’t think that injury really sums up my career.”
Nick, what did it mean for you though to be able to come back and play a few more games with the Browns after that injury?
“It meant a lot. But again, that year, it was just such a blur, and I, you know, I just kind of moved very fast. I should have been a lot more patient that year and taken my time getting back. But yeah, it was great to get back on the field. Great, great to score a touchdown in my first game back, and to just be back in front of the fans and my teammates.”
Nick, when Browns fans talk about your career, I know one of the most popular moments they bring up is the ‘no mas’ run in 2020. So, I guess for you, where does that moment rank in terms of encapsulating everything that you were about? It seems like that’s what people always hear about.
“Yeah, it’s up there. I mean, I just got so many, you know, great moments and memories here in this city on this football team. So, it’s hard to pick one. But you know, just so many great moments, so many great people I’ve met, great teammates, great organization, and like I just keep saying, just a blessing to be able to come back and be able to go through all those memories and hang out with old teammates and things like that.”
If you had to pick one, what memory would you pick?
“It was great to beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs. I think that whole Covid year was a mess, but that season was very fun to me, and I think just that season as a whole was probably my favorite memory.”
When you looked over your stats and what you were able to accomplish, and where you rank in Browns history amongst running backs, do you feel in your heart of hearts that if you could have kept going, you would have joined Jim Brown and Leroy Kelly in the Hall of Fame?
“That’s hard to say. You know, as a running back, all I care about numbers-wise is rushing yards. So, I did want to get behind Jim Brown. I wasn’t able to do that. I think I was kind of close. But yeah, that’s really all that, numbers-wise, that I really cared about, was the rushing yards. So, I think I still had a good place, and you know, even beyond that, I was just happy to go out there and play hard for my teammates.”
How special is it for you to be with those names, top running backs in the league and Hall of Famers?
“Obviously, it’s special because, you know, it’s just the history of the running backs here, starting with Jim Brown. I mean, it’s just a blessing to be able to come to a place and to have that history, and to have someone to chase and to look up to and just to admire, you know, playing the same position that he did here. So just a blessing.”
How are you able to handle, you know, you guys didn’t win a ton while you were here. How were you able to handle that year after year and still just really want to be here and give your heart and soul to this football team?
“Yeah, I think obviously you want to win, but it’s more to it than that. And I think just, you know, the team we had when I was here, I think we were in a place to win, and I think everyone in the building wanted to win. It’s just, you know, it just didn’t work out for us for whatever reason. And yeah, I know everybody in that building, we worked hard, we did things right, and, you know, it just didn’t work out for us.”
You have had this earned reputation as a selfless, team-first player. Now that it’s over, did you ever wish you’d asked for the ball more?
“You know, that’s a good question. I never really asked for the ball more. I trusted the people who were handling things, and so I think they put us in the best position they could. And yeah, when I got the ball, I tried to do what I could with it.
Not even once?
“No, I didn’t, I didn’t need more, you know.”
What’s next for you?
“For now, I’m going to just hang out with family. I’m back home in Georgia now, so I’m just going to hang out with family, going to travel a little bit, go see the world, as they say, and then I don’t know, I’m going to figure things out.”
Do you think you’ll always be a part of Cleveland and a part of the fabric of this community, and maybe still be here in the future?
“Oh, yeah, obviously, I’m Cleveland forever. I’m a Brown for life now. And so that being said, you know, I just, anytime I’m around, if I could, I would love to stop by and see everybody and continue to keep up with everyone and see what happens from there.”
Every teammate that we talk to holds you with such high regard as a teammate. Why do you think that is?
“I would say just because, you know, just my preparation, how I approach the game, you know, I’m a very routine guy, and I did things the same every single day. I prided myself on being consistent, being disciplined, and everyone saw that with the way I practiced, with the way I played, how I worked out, how I trained, and I think everyone admired that about me, respected that from me.”
Did that season last year help with closure at all? Playing a full season coming back after the injury, was that weird? I mean, you talked about not being here, was it weird not being here?
“It was very weird and it was different. And, yeah, I wish things had ended differently. Obviously, I wanted to play here, end my career here, but it was great to play one more season and to be healthy and to have a winning season. And so, I think that’s all I wanted, because I knew last year was going to be my last year, and I just wanted to go in on a healthy note, because in ’24, I ended up breaking my foot, and I missed games before that, and I hated that my last game in Cleveland ever was that game. So, I wanted to play one more year and be healthy and be able to move how I wanted to move, and it was a great closure.”
You were never a player that celebrated a big run or a touchdown, so how awkward is Sunday going to be, when everyone’s celebrating you and they want you to join in?
“Yeah, I’m not the best in those moments. Even coming in today, everybody’s clapping for me, I didn’t know what to do with my hands or how to stand. But, yeah, it’s something that I’ve come to, I guess, get used to. And now that I’m not playing, I’m a little more relaxed, so I can kind of embrace everything in and take it as it comes.”
What would you tell a prospective Browns player if they were thinking about coming here, a free agent or a draft pick or anything like that, about what the experience is like to play for the Cleveland Browns?
“That’s a great question. I feel like this place is special and, you know, you have got to be there to see why it’s special. You got to be in the building, you got to meet the people, you got to meet the team, and you got to just be around to see why everybody loves it. And I think when people come here and they meet everybody and they see everything and they go out there and they practice and think about Cleveland, is you got to be in the building to know what’s special. And you can only trust the guy to your right and to your left. And that’s a team built on trust and camaraderie with everyone inside of it. And I think that’s what makes Cleveland different.”
Just knowing how loved you are by the fan base, do you ever look back and sort of laugh at the famous clip now, the guy at the airport in your rookie year during Hard Knocks episode where he didn’t know who you were?
“Yeah, yeah, I do. I see everything that, you know, people say. I’m, like, coming back to consciousness now that I’m not playing, so I’m able to, like, actually accept things and laugh and things like that. So, I see everything. You know, when I retired, it was very funny on social media, how, you know, ‘prime Nick Chubb’, and all this stuff. So, it’s great. The fans love it. I love it. You know, it’s great to just be loved by, you know, a city.”
This morning, Jason Tarver told us some stories about you coming over and messing with the linebacker group at practice and how funny you were but how hardworking you were and how you set the tone for the rest of the team. How much do you appreciate those relationships that you’ve built over the years with coaches and other players that you’ve played with?
“That’s what it’s about. I mean, it’s about the relationships and the people you meet. And, you know, we all have this common goal of coming here and winning. And with that comes, like, the hard work, sacrifice, and the long nights, the early mornings, and that’s when you form a bond with everyone in the building. And like, even now, my friends back home, my high school buddies I play football with, college buddies, I mean, we talk. And it’s more than just football. And that’s how it’ll be here for me. Like, I mean, you know, AB (Andrew Berry), the Haslams and everybody, my teammates, my ex-coaches, coaches that I had here that aren’t here, teammates that I had here that aren’t here. You know, it’s just the thing about football, it’s just so special. It makes everybody so close. And it’s just more than football, at the end of the day.”
What was the opportunity to play with someone like a Joel Bitonio, who was sort of like this is where he wanted to be, where he wanted to retire. What was that like, to have somebody like him?
“You know, Joel is one of my favorite teammates ever. And a funny story, I told Joe when I was in year one or year two, that we’re going to retire at the same time. And it’s crazy that it actually happened. But Joel’s just a great person, great human being, he’s a Hall of Famer. He’s a great player. And Joel, like me, wanted to win. He wanted to win here and nowhere else. And yeah, Joel’s just great, he’s one of the people that I’m going to talk to for the rest of my life. And we’re going to just think back on the old memories and cherish all the times we had together, you know, things like that. He’s just, he’s a special teammate.”
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