Nick Chubb Diagnosed With MCL Tear; Browns RB Likely Facing Multiple Surgeries

Nick Chubb‘s season-ending knee injury has led some to question his ability to return to football given the nature of the damage seemingly done during the Week 2 Monday night contest. Further testing has indicated the worst-case scenario has been avoided for the Browns back, however.

Testing revealed Chubb suffered an MCL tear in his left knee, as detailed by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Crucially, though, his ACL is believed to be intact. Surgery will likely take place in the coming days, and there is optimism that no further damage in the knee will be discovered during that process.

Presuming that winds up being the case, Schefter adds Chubb will be facing a 6-8 month recovery timeframe. Given how early in the season the injury occurred, that timetable could put him in line to return to action by the start of next season, a relatively encouraging development considering the nature in which he departed Cleveland’s loss to the Steelers.

On the other hand, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes Chubb will likely require two surgeries to addresses the damage done to his knee (something which is common practice in cases such as his). A full ACL reconstruction may be required, though determining whether that is the case or not will take place during the first procedure. Plenty thus remains to be seen regarding the extent of Chubb’s injury and the specifics of his rehab process to come.

With the four-time Pro Bowler sidelined, Cleveland turned to 2022 fifth-rounder Jerome Ford as the team’s new lead back. That decision came with the knowledge a backfield addition of some kind would be made, and the Browns made the unsurprising move of reuniting with Kareem Hunt earlier this week. The tandem logged 19 total touches in Sunday’s lopsided win over the Titans, with Ford scoring a pair of touchdowns.

Notably, Schefter adds that the Browns – named as a suitor for Cam Akers, who was ultimately dealt to the Vikings – also considering poaching Bam Knight off the Lions’ practice squad. The latter was added to Detroit’s active roster earlier this week with David Montgomery suffering an injury, but he would have added a depth presence to the Browns’ backfield had the team enticed him to head to Cleveland. In the end, though, Hunt is back for a fifth campaign with his hometown team while all parties move forward in Chubb’s absence.