The Chubb Mentality - 8/23/26
After eight seasons, veteran running back Nick Chubb announced his retirement from the NFL. The long-time Cleveland Brown spent the bulk of his career in The Land and finished his eight-year career with one season in Houston.
“Twelve year old me could never imagine this day, and 30 year old me is wondering where all the time has gone. I’ve known for some time now, but I’m finally ready to share that I’m done playing football”.
Chubb started his collegiate career at UGA, three hours away from his hometown of Cedarwood. Following Todd Gurley’s suspension and ACL injury, the Georgia native was thrust into the starting role. As a true freshman, he amassed over 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns, a campaign that included 266 rushing yards against Louisville in the Belk Bowl. The 2014 SEC Freshman of the Year started his sophomore campaign with six straight 100-yard performances, averaging over eight yards a carry. His season was finished after suffering a gruesome knee injury against Tennessee. In his junior year, Chubb proceeded to shock the world by picking up where he left off. Deciding to forgo the draft, he returned to UGA for his senior year in the pursuit of a national title. With his running mate, Sony Michel, he led his team to an SEC Championship and a National Championship appearance.
Fast forward to September of that same year–Chubb was making his debut with the Cleveland Browns, the 35th pick of a team desperate for something, anything to create a spark within their organization. With their 1st overall selection in that same draft, Cleveland also added the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. Together, Mayfield and Chubb successfully changed the fate of the Browns.
This new backfield created an instantaneous and seismic shift within Cleveland. A team that failed to surpass one victory combined in the previous two years went on to win 13 in their next two. The next year (2020), the Browns were back in the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. Not only did they end their playoff drought, but the Cardiac Kids went on to beat their hated divisional oppressors, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 48-37 in the Wild Card game. In this game, Mayfield and Chubb were sublime. The Oklahoma product passed for 263 yards with three touchdowns and zero turnovers. Chubb added 145 yards from scrimmage and took a fourth-quarter screen pass to the house to slam the door on Roethlisberger & Co.
This pivot was one for the ages. There have been few cases in the NFL of a franchise being stuck at the bottom for as long as the Browns had been. Endless leadership restructurings, roster overhauls, rebuilds, and promising draft picks amounted to nothing until Mayfield and Chubb came along. The final winning combination came to fruition when Kevin Stefanski was lured away from Minnesota to take the Cleveland head coaching job. However, no matter how great Mayfield and Stefanski were in Cleveland, the Browns would have never left the gutter without Nick Chubb.
Statistically, Chubb stood among the very few. As a pure runner, Chubb was one of the most efficient to ever play the position. During his years in Cleveland, Chubb averaged 5.1 yards per carry, just shy of the legendary Jim Brown’s record, tied for fifth all-time. This number is truly remarkable when you consider the volume that Chubb was utilized in Cleveland. When you factor out the change-of-pace backs that had fewer than 1,000 carries, Chubb is third all-time, among the likes of Barry Sanders and the aforementioned Brown. Chubb was, inarguably, the bell cow for the Browns offense. Compiling four consecutive 1,000-plus yard seasons between 2019 and 2022 (Pro-Bowl honors each of these years), the offense truly flowed through their running back.
The heart and soul of the team was also channeled through Chubb. Stefanski brought steadiness to the team through his level-headedness and consistency. He provided an unwavering pillar of leadership to a team that had lacked it for so long. Mayfield brought the fire. The vocal leader of the team, he brought a competitive, chip-on-your-shoulder edge every Sunday. Chubb’s role was different.
“My mom and grandma instilled discipline and responsibility in me at a young age. They taught me that there’s a right way and a wrong way to do everything. There’s no in between. Laying concrete with my dad during those hot Georgia summers also played a part. That taught me how to push through pain and how to be a man. Up at the high school, my coaches held me to the highest standards and demanded the best out of me every single day. This is where I realized I could become a good football player simply by outworking everyone”.
As a product of his upbringing, he was all about the grind. He didn’t talk trash with the rest of the guys or chase notoriety on social media. There were no elaborate touchdown celebrations or flashy pregame outfits. Chubb was his own guy. He didn’t like to say much; he was all about putting his head down and getting to work. No matter what happened the day before, how many hits he took, or how many times he lost, he willed himself to keep pushing forward.
“In college, I wanted to win the Heisman, become an All American, and win a National Championship. In the NFL, I wanted to lead the league in rushing, win MVP, and win a Super Bowl for the city of Cleveland. I wasn’t able to accomplish any of those things. And what’s frustrating, but also gives me peace, is that I know for a fact I gave it my all”.
This mindset, this “Chubb mentality”, is what made the quietest guy on the team the player whom everyone rallied around. Day in and day out, Nick Chubb decided that he was going to give everything that he had. On the field and off of it. During gamedays, practice, walk-throughs, conditioning, and in the gym. Following his devastating knee injury, he attacked recovery with a fervor. Twice. The work that his teammates saw him put in was rare, and that’s why they respected him. They saw how much it meant to him, and they wanted to win for him. Chubb was the version of each of his teammates they wished they were. The reason for his attitude is profound: he was scared to give anything less than everything and be forced to live with the knowledge that he could have done more. That’s a beautiful sentiment.
Tip your cap to Nick Chubb, a man with no regrets.