00:00He's not the greatest Browns running back of all time,
00:02but he's second or third.
00:04If you go look at his stats over the course of his career,
00:07he's third in rushing yards in Browns history.
00:10He's third in rushing touchdowns as well.
00:14And he's actually second in yards per game.
00:18This is a guy that was below,
00:20and injuries have followed him his whole career,
00:24even going back to him at Georgia.
00:27And Nick Chubb spent seven seasons with the Browns,
00:30his final one last year in Houston.
00:35But he really hadn't played a full year since 2022.
00:39He played 15 games last year.
00:41He started nine, but he only had 122 attempts.
00:44And in every other season, he had way more than that,
00:47almost 200.
00:48He had 300 attempts in 2022.
00:50We all know about his devastating knee injuries.
00:53And, James, you are the resident Browns fan here.
00:57You watched pretty much every second in Nick Chubb's career here in Cleveland.
01:02What did he mean to you?
01:03You know, he just kind of marked the one aspect of hope.
01:07You know you can rely—reliability, excuse me.
01:09That's what it is.
01:11Reliability.
01:12You knew of anything else.
01:13Quarterback, all bad offense line, inconsistent wide receiver play,
01:19youthful tight ends, whatever the case may be.
01:21You knew you could at least rely on Nick Chubb.
01:23You knew whether he got hit in the backfield,
01:26you knew he was still going to make something out of it.
01:29And when they let him go, it was a little hurtful because, you know,
01:35he's just somebody you could root for without any of the off-the-field stuff.
01:39You knew what he brought to you on the field.
01:43And, you know, he's almost to a throwback a little bit to,
01:47I just go out there and I act like I've been here before.
01:49I'm going to hand the ball to the ref.
01:51And those kind of guys are hard to come by who don't do a lot of talking.
01:56You know, his presence just kind of emanated through how he played.
02:01And I hope—I remember when the rumors were earlier in the offseason that,
02:05hey, you know, the Browns may kick the tires to see if they may want to bring him back,
02:11you know, veteran presence in the locker room, et cetera, et cetera.
02:13And I thought that would have been good for a youthful team like this who are playing so many young
02:17guys.
02:19But injuries sometimes just take a hold of people, and it's just unfortunate, you know,
02:23that he had that second knee injury because who knows what his trajectory could have been
02:28and the fact that, you know, you're already having to recover from the same injury on the same leg.
02:33That's just a lot to deal with.
02:35And to even just see how he was able to come back and be a somewhat productive guy in Houston.
02:40So, I mean, you hate to see it kind of end like this where a guy is going out right
02:44before the season.
02:45That kind of indicates that, hey, man, nobody really wanted you.
02:48So, you're going ahead and go ahead and shut it down.
02:50But I think we just owe him a debt of gratitude and respect just because of how he carried himself
02:57as a Cleveland Brown on and off the field.
02:59And, you know, some of those runs I remember—the funniest thing,
03:04the thing I remember most about Nick Chubb, it wasn't a touchdown.
03:07It's not a block.
03:08It wasn't a cutback block.
03:10It was him stopping at the three-yard line to run the clock out.
03:17He could have scored and iced the game for sure,
03:19but that just goes to show you where he's thinking presence of mind in the game to,
03:24you know what, I could pad my stats.
03:26An extra touchdown at this point would look pretty nice on his pro football reference page, right?
03:33But he was just that kind of guy.
03:35He was always going to make the right play, sacrifice for the team.
03:37You know, when you think about a guy who was going to sacrifice it all for the squad,
03:41you got to say Nick Chubb.
03:44And, you know, I'm looking at his game logs from last season.
03:50You know, he had a rough—he just struggled.
03:54He went out on his own terms.
03:56He's not a guy who wasted away.
03:59He struggled to get four yards a carry in the early part of the season.
04:03And then from November on, he only had—from November 9th to the end of the season,
04:09he only had one game where he actually had more than 10 carries or more,
04:12and he had exactly 10 on January 12th in the regular season finale against the Steelers.
04:23It was hard.
04:24It was—Nick Chubb, you will be missed.
04:27He's going to be a Ring of Honor guy for the Browns.
04:29He's going to be—I think he's going to be around town.
04:31He's going to be a guy that comes back.
04:33I'm sure he'll be a major face in the Cleveland community.
04:36I wouldn't be surprised if he was a guy that started to make, like, regular hits here.
04:40You know, the way that Joel Batonio is going to do, the way that Joe Thomas does.
04:44Well, he's not a big talker, though.
04:45So, I mean, I don't know about that.
04:47He strikes me as the type of guy who's just going to, you know, ride off into the sunset.
04:52He's from Georgia, so, I mean, I'm pretty sure he's got a plot of land down there.
04:55But, I mean, he's a quiet guy.
04:59He always—he was always the guy that just kind of like, you know,
05:01I'm going to let my play on the field speak for me.
05:03I'm not about to sit here in front of these microphones and cameras
05:05and tell you just how it's going to happen and telegraphic for you.
05:08You know, you know, I'm going to do—I'm going to stay here and do my job.
05:10But he really wanted just to play football.
05:14And, I mean, you can appreciate somebody who just wants to come and do their job.
05:18And there was never any controversies from him in an organization that at times
05:23during his tenure could have been so dysfunctional.
05:28And him taking the Browns to the playoffs and being a force
05:31and just being a guy that, you know, that you could rally around and point toward hope.
05:38You know, you go back and you remember his rookie year,
05:42four yards shy of an 1,000-yard season,
05:44could have started his career with five straight 1,000-yard seasons.
05:48And, again, you remember the perseverance that he had to deal with at Georgia
05:52and learning from guys like Sonny Michel and Todd Gurley.
05:57And he persevered through so many different things.
06:01And you remember, he wasn't the first running back from his own college team draft.
06:06And, you know, granted, he was picked in the second round, 35th overall.
06:10So, you know, first round plus three.
06:15This isn't something that is unexpected.
06:17He wasn't with a team.
06:19He, you know, he wasn't going to be Nick Chubb, so to speak, anymore.
06:24He was going to be a guy that would be a rotational piece, a change of pace back,
06:27just, you know, probably back on the depth chart.
06:30And when you're Nick Chubb and when you're used to stuff like that,
06:37it's hard to go back to, you know, when you're used to being the guy,
06:43it's hard to go back to the – it's hard to stay in the background, you know?
06:49When you are the face or at least one of the faces of the franchise
06:55and you're just a guy now, you're just a guy on the end of the bench.
06:59I wouldn't say end of the bench.
07:00But you're just one of the running backs on the roster.
07:02Maybe you get in, maybe you don't.
07:04I think that – and especially because, you know, how many injuries he had.
07:09He knew it was time.
07:10And you can – I respect that.
07:12When you know it's time, it's something that I really respect.
07:152-1-6-4-7-4-00-92.
07:18I got to disagree with you there, buddy.
07:20Why? What? What do you mean?
07:21I know. We're making this a habit tonight.
07:23You got to be better.
07:27No, I don't think that he came to grips with being an end-of-the-bench guy.
07:33I think that's why he retired.
07:35I think you think about some NFL players, right?
07:37They don't want – Aaron Donald.
07:40Aaron Donald is flirting with coming back,
07:42and we probably – most of us believe that it's probably going to happen, right?
07:45He's coming back. There's no way he doesn't come back.
07:48That's what we think, right?
07:51I think he's okay with coming back because he knows I'm actually going to play a pivotal role.
07:57I'm as important as I was three years ago.
08:01That's not the same for Nick Chubb, no matter where he goes,
08:04no matter what knowledge is up there in that noggin.
08:06So I think also knowing that I'm going to have to take a reduced role.
08:10I may only play a handful of games.
08:14Forget plays.
08:15And I think that's hard.
08:16That's literally what I said.
08:19That's literally what I said.
08:20Oh, my bad.
08:21I misheard you.
08:22My bad.
08:22I misheard you over here.
08:23Actually, I do want to touch on that Aaron Donald thing, though.
08:26I don't think Aaron Donald – Aaron Donald retired because, like,
08:30literally what else could he accomplish anymore?
08:33Like, he had nothing else to accomplish.
08:35He is – he might be the greatest defensive player this century.
08:38You know, I – Aaron Donald was, like, every year all pro, every year pro bowler.
08:46You know, 20-sack season.
08:48He's got over 100 sacks.
08:49Like – or actually, he does.
08:50Yeah, he does.
08:51He has over 100 sacks.
08:52Super Bowl champion.
08:54Like, three – multi-time defensive player of the year.
08:58Aaron Donald had nothing more to accomplish in the NFL.
09:01And, you know, remember that season, it looked like the Rams were, you know,
09:06headed for disaster.
09:07The Rams – I mean, they were 10-7 that year, and they lost the Lions in the playoffs,
09:12and they had no picks.
09:14I shouldn't say headed for disaster, but I don't – nobody thought that they were
09:17going to be unbelievable.
09:19You know, nobody thought that Puka Nakua was going to come out of nowhere and be
09:23freaking amazing.
09:24Nobody thought that they were going to get Miles Garrett at this point.
09:27Aaron Donald's coming back for one reason, and one reason only to go out there
09:30and win a Super Bowl.
09:32And I think because probably Chubb didn't have any Super Bowl contender offers.
09:36That makes it – I want to say that makes it easier, but, I mean, if you don't have
09:41a dance to the date or just give it to the prom –
09:44Yeah, date to the date.
09:45If you don't have a date to the dance, it makes it a lot easier to say,
09:47I'm not going to the dance.
09:48Yeah, yeah, of course.
09:51And running back careers are so short now.
09:56Did he get paid?
09:57Did he get a ridiculous contract from the Browns?
09:59No.
10:00It wasn't ridiculous.
10:01He actually took a team from the deal.
10:02What's his career earnings?
10:03Now I want to know.
10:04If I had to guess, I would say his career earnings are –
10:07Wait, let me – okay, wait.
10:08I see it.
10:09I have it here.
10:10Go ahead.
10:10Go figure your guess.
10:11I'm going to say his career earnings are under $92 million.
10:16Oh, my God.
10:17I mean, yeah, but, like, I mean, you're asking something.
10:21$62 million.
10:22Nick Chubb, according to AI Overview on Google,
10:25Nick Chubb earned approximately $38.8 million to $40.7 million in his career.
10:30I mean, hell, if I earned any – a fraction of that,
10:35I would be pretty damn close to the happiest man alive.
10:38You know, that's fine, and taking a team-friendly deal.
10:42So he signed his rookie deal four years for $7.3 million,
10:45and then he followed up by a three-year $36 million contract,
10:48which – and again, running backs don't make that much money anyway.
10:51Like, isn't Jeremiah – Jeremiah Love has the highest guaranteed money ever,
10:56and he's just a rookie, and the only reason he has that high of a contract
11:01is because he was the third overall pick.
11:04Like –
11:05Inflation.
11:07There you go.
11:08Inflation and being a top pick.
11:11Can I play something for you right quick?
11:12Go ahead.
11:12Go ahead.
11:12Mike Tomlin, after Nick Chubb suffered that injury in that game,
11:18on that fateful September night,
11:20these was his comments on Nick Chubb after that.
11:25Man, he looks like the same guy that was running at Georgia to me.
11:28I just think it's about opportunity, and sometimes that's the case.
11:31I thought when given an opportunity a year ago,
11:33he looked like a featured runner, like the big-time runner that he's proven to be
11:37in 2019.
11:38Seems like he was at Georgia forever, and he did it for a long time in the SEC.
11:42So I don't think we're seeing anything new from him.
11:45I think sometimes it's just opportunity to present itself.
11:47That was after he came back from an injury he suffered on the Browns.
11:50Pardon me.
11:52One more for you, though.
11:53Go ahead.
11:53A guy we used to love, Myles Garrett.
11:56This is what he was speaking about, like what it meant to lose a guy like Nick Chubb.
12:02It hurts.
12:03Our brother.
12:04That's my brother.
12:04I've been together for a long time, and I mean, it's a blow for the whole team,
12:08and we don't want his injury to be in vain.
12:12We've got to push on.
12:13That's what he want us to do.
12:15And if he had any choice in the runner, that's what he would do.
12:18So we've just got to continue to fight and use it as motivation.
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